Nugget Falls
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Nugget Falls is a waterfall in Alaska, at a modelled elevation of 21 m. The Snow Towers stands 2,135 m to the north, 14 miles off. The nearest named place is AJ Falls, a waterfall 0.3 miles away. Alaska's Marine Highway passes 6.0 miles off.
The story
Nugget Falls, also known as Nugget Creek Falls or Mendenhall Glacier Falls, is a waterfall downstream of the Nugget Glacier, at the base of Bullard Mountain, in the U.S. state of Alaska. Formed by the creek from the Nugget Glacier, the waterfall drops 377 feet (115 m) in two tiers of 99 feet (30 m) and 278 feet (85 m) onto a sandbar in Mendenhall Lake, which is the freshwater pool at the face of the Mendenhall Glacier. The lake then drains via Mendenhall River into the Inside Passage. The waterfall is fed by Nugget Creek, which is in turn fed by the Nugget Glacier, a tributary glacier on the mountainside east of Auke Bay. The creek cascades down towards Mendenhall Lake, forming a hanging valley, then plunges over the falls to the lake. Prior to the recession of Mendenhall Glacier, it was said that the falls would drop "directly on the glacier", or that the "glacier covered the waterfall".
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q37971, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 6.0 mi off the Alaska's Marine Highway, National
Named places within 25 miles
- Bullard Mountain: 1.4 mi
- McGinnis Mountain: 2.8 mi
- Tlaxsatanjín: 3.1 mi
- Thunder Mountain: 3.2 mi
- Stroller White Mountain: 3.5 mi
- Melvin Park: 2.9 mi
- Rotary Park: 3.6 mi
- Jackie Renninger Park: 4.5 mi
- Twin Lakes Park: 6.9 mi
- Cope Park: 9.6 mi
- Tsimshian Pole: 9.7 mi
- Haida Raven Pole: 9.7 mi
- Liberty Bell Reproduction: 9.8 mi
- Sealaska Cultural Values Pole: 10.0 mi
- Eagle Pole: 10.0 mi
- Tahku: 9.7 mi
- William H. Seward: 9.8 mi
- Windfall Fisherman: 9.8 mi
- Nimbus: 9.9 mi
- Before I Die ...: 9.9 mi
- Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center: 0.7 mi
- Overlook: 3.8 mi
- Governor's house: 9.7 mi
- outer point: 10.2 mi
- Goldbelt Tram: 10.3 mi
- Wickersham State Historical Site: 9.7 mi
- Juneau-Douglas City Museum: 9.8 mi
- Alaska State Museum: 9.8 mi
- Sealaska Heritage Institute: 10.0 mi
- Last Chance Mining Museum: 10.1 mi
- Lena Beach: 8.1 mi
- Sandy Beach: 12.2 mi
- Berm Beach: 23.4 mi
- AJ Falls: 0.3 mi
- Ebner Falls: 9.8 mi
- Juneau Arboretum: 9.6 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 14.8 miles of Nugget Falls. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Snow Towers | N 4° | 2,135 m | 13.9 mi |
| Emperor Peak | NNE 27° | 2,062 m | 12.1 mi |
| The Dukes | NNE 30° | 1,953 m | 11.8 mi |
| Princess Peak | NNE 32° | 1,946 m | 10.9 mi |
| Folded Towers | N 358° | 1,940 m | 13.3 mi |
| Mount Ernest Gruening | NNW 337° | 1,844 m | 10.9 mi |
| Mount Ernest Gruening-South Peak | NNW 337° | 1,833 m | 10.6 mi |
| Mount Wrather | NNE 23° | 1,783 m | 4.8 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:00 | 18:20 | 19:12 |
| June solstice | 03:51 | 20:58 | 22:10 |
| September equinox | 06:44 | 18:07 | 19:00 |
| December solstice | 08:47 | 13:28 | 15:07 |
Local time (America/Juneau).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Jun–Aug.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 26 | 28 | 32 | 40 | 48 | 53 | 54 | 54 | 48 | 41 | 32 | 28 |
| Precip in | 6.5 | 4.6 | 4.0 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 6.4 | 8.9 | 10.6 | 10.0 | 8.0 | 8.1 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Juneau Forecast Office, 2 mi away.
Months at or above the year’s average flow: Jun–Oct — fullest in Aug, leanest in Mar.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean cfs | 136 | 101 | 90.5 | 155 | 766 | 2,032 | 3,201 | 3,549 | 2,794 | 1,395 | 349 | 183 |
USGS monthly mean discharge at gauge Mendenhall R NR Auke Bay AK, 1 mi away — the nearest gauge, which can sit on a different stream.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/544285931
Day trips start here
- Juneau · 10 mi
Take the scenic way to Nugget Falls.
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