Martina Volfova – Łù’àn Män – Kluane Lake

Changes at Łù’àn Män – Kluane Lake

Climate change has caused the massive Kaskawulsh Glacier to retreat so much that its meltwater abruptly switched direction, in the first documented case of “river piracy” in modern times. Instead of flowing into A’ą̈y Chù’ -Slims River, Kluane Lake, and the White and Yukon Rivers, and then north to the Bering Sea, the water has changed its course and now flows east into the Alsek River and then south into the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.
A’ą̈y Chù’ – Slim River consisted of about 80% of Kluane Lake water source. Current water levels continue to drop dramatically, changing the ecology of the A’ą̈y Chù’ – Slim River valley, Łù’àn Män – Kluane Lake, and the entire area.