For the first time, Juneau’s famous Mendenhall Glacier is not touching Mendenhall Lake, which was hidden beneath a thick sheet of glacial ice only a couple of hundred years ago. Scientists say this means the glacier has entered a new phase of its retreat.

Jason Amundson, a glaciologist at the University of Alaska Southeast who’s been studying the Mendenhall Glacier for years, said the glacier is the symbol of Juneau.

“There’s several glaciers around, but when someone says ‘ the glacier,’ they’re definitely talking about Mendenhall,” Amundson said.

The inside of Juneau’s City Hall features a panoramic image of the glacier. It’s the most striking part of the landscape that travelers see when they fly into Juneau International Airport. It’s the capital city’s top tourist attraction,

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