Cruising Glacier Bay
Cruising Glacier Bay - Alaska
You can watch movies about it, you can hear about it, you can
read about it, but until you partake of it, you have no clue how
thrilling it is to cruise Glacier Bay.
Glacier Bay Mountain ranges with peaks over 10,000 feet,
culminating in 15,320 foot high Mount Fairweather within the
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
Nowhere else in Alaska, or in the world, can you see the amazing
sight of the tidewater glacier that spreads from a peak 3 miles
high down to sea level, that is known as the Margerie Glacier.
Only 200 years ago, the beautiful fjords and cruising areas of
"Glacier Bay", were buried under ice thousands of feet thick. In
1794, Capitan George Vancouver saw the face of an enormous
glacier at Glacier Bay's entrance at Icy Strait.
Naturalist John Muir found in 1879, that the vast ice had
withdrawn an impressive 48 miles up the Bay. Amazingly, by 1916,
its face had receded 65 miles all the way back to the entrance
of Tarr Inlet, where it is today.
So, in only 200 years, these massive glaciers have left us with
the beautiful, 65 mile long bay we enjoy now.
The glaciers on the Bay are extremely active and quite
frequently, you get to hear or see "calving". It occurs when
huge parts of the glacier breaks off and falls crashing into the
Bay.
The calving imitates an explosion, reverberating off the walls
of the glacier, and the ice makes a giant splash as it smashes
into Glacier Bay.
Along with Mother Nature's incredible playful artistry of
twinkling icebergs and striking views, you will probably be
entertained by the plentiful wildlife that call this section of
Alaska their homefront.
Sea otters, sleek sea lions, wolves, moose, black bears, Alaskan
brown bears, puffins, humpback whales, minke and orca, harbor
seals, porpoises, stunning bald eagles, mountain goats, and an
amazing 200 breeds of birds are a delight to watch.
Puffins are one of the most vibrant birds. They are small
seabirds, pigeon-sized, that live on the open water throughout
the largest part of the year. Except for breeding.They swim and
ride the surface of the ocean all year long regardless of harsh
weather.
>From April to mid August they colonize on islands, and seacoasts
to breed. They have black and white feathers and a vertical,
flat, triangular shaped bill which is brightly colored
especially during breeding season.
Whether in awe of the wildlife or breathing in the awesome- ness
of the views, the beauty of Alaska stands out in this impressive
Park.
========================= Jenna Grant is webmaster at
http://www.qtcruise.com =========================