Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve
Today was a highlight of the voyage for many guests as we encountered up close the elemental force of water on rock as we viewed the cumulative result of eons of action of glaciers on the mountains of Glacier Bay National Park. We were joined at 6:00 am by two National Park Service naturalists, Janene Driscoll and Helen Fields, who enriched our experience by providing commentary throughout the day and special activities for the young travelers on the ship. We were amazed to learn that just 250 years ago, Glacier Bay was full of glacial ice, and that its 65-mile retreat is the fastest on record for a glacier, due to the fact that the glacier had emerged into Icy Strait where the currents swept away its protective terminal moraine and allowed wave action to eat away at the ice. Most of the mountains that we viewed up close had rounded tops and scarred faces, the mute testament of the power of ice over the centuries. In contrast, the taller, sharp-peaked mountains further away had not been sheared off by glacial action.
We traveled north through the bay to South Marble island where we viewed numerous Steller sea lions and a multitude of birds. Clearly today was a thrill for our birders, who glimpsed tufted as well as horned puffins, pelagic cormorants, common murres, black oystercatchers, bald eagles, black-legged kittiwakes, pigeon guillemots, marbled murrelets, surf scoters, white-winged scoters, glaucous-winged gulls, northwestern crows, harlequin ducks, hermit thrushes, and arctic terns.
We turned into Tidal Inlet, where we paused to observe a huge brown bear overturning knee-high boulders with easy swipes of his paw as he foraged for intertidal organisms. We also watched a trio of mountain goats as they frolicked at the top of the cliff; we waited to see them tumble down the mountain, but their footing was sure.
We passed through Russell Cut, just east of Russell Island, and soon thereafter glimpsed the face of Lamplugh Glacier, with its blue ice. We continued northwest, until we reached the main attractions of the day, Margerie Glacier and the larger Grand Pacific Glacier. The latter did not fit our preconceived image of a glacier, as what we viewed from the deck of the National Geographic Sea Bird was its gray-black terminal moraine rather than a wall of ice. In contrast, Margerie Glacier has lost its terminal moraine, and thus is more easily chewed away by wave action. We paused for a long view of the glacier, and observed with awe its 250 feet high, mile-wide face that is advancing 6-8 feet per day. We were amazed to learn that it extended another 100 feet below the water surface. We waited with anticipation for the glacier to calve, and were rewarded by several minor falls of ice, but no monstrous blocks of ice fell while we were in the vicinity.
As we headed back down Glacier Bay, we paused to view the ice face of Lamplugh Glacier, its blue ice a demonstration of the ability of thick layers of frozen water to absorb and refract light, letting only the shorter, blue wavelengths to emerge. We continued on toward the mouth of the bay, and after dinner some guests elected to take a hike at Bartlett Cove. We finished the day with a deep appreciation for the power and majesty of glaciers.
Today was a highlight of the voyage for many guests as we encountered up close the elemental force of water on rock as we viewed the cumulative result of eons of action of glaciers on the mountains of Glacier Bay National Park. We were joined at 6:00 am by two National Park Service naturalists, Janene Driscoll and Helen Fields, who enriched our experience by providing commentary throughout the day and special activities for the young travelers on the ship. We were amazed to learn that just 250 years ago, Glacier Bay was full of glacial ice, and that its 65-mile retreat is the fastest on record for a glacier, due to the fact that the glacier had emerged into Icy Strait where the currents swept away its protective terminal moraine and allowed wave action to eat away at the ice. Most of the mountains that we viewed up close had rounded tops and scarred faces, the mute testament of the power of ice over the centuries. In contrast, the taller, sharp-peaked mountains further away had not been sheared off by glacial action.
We traveled north through the bay to South Marble island where we viewed numerous Steller sea lions and a multitude of birds. Clearly today was a thrill for our birders, who glimpsed tufted as well as horned puffins, pelagic cormorants, common murres, black oystercatchers, bald eagles, black-legged kittiwakes, pigeon guillemots, marbled murrelets, surf scoters, white-winged scoters, glaucous-winged gulls, northwestern crows, harlequin ducks, hermit thrushes, and arctic terns.
We turned into Tidal Inlet, where we paused to observe a huge brown bear overturning knee-high boulders with easy swipes of his paw as he foraged for intertidal organisms. We also watched a trio of mountain goats as they frolicked at the top of the cliff; we waited to see them tumble down the mountain, but their footing was sure.
We passed through Russell Cut, just east of Russell Island, and soon thereafter glimpsed the face of Lamplugh Glacier, with its blue ice. We continued northwest, until we reached the main attractions of the day, Margerie Glacier and the larger Grand Pacific Glacier. The latter did not fit our preconceived image of a glacier, as what we viewed from the deck of the National Geographic Sea Bird was its gray-black terminal moraine rather than a wall of ice. In contrast, Margerie Glacier has lost its terminal moraine, and thus is more easily chewed away by wave action. We paused for a long view of the glacier, and observed with awe its 250 feet high, mile-wide face that is advancing 6-8 feet per day. We were amazed to learn that it extended another 100 feet below the water surface. We waited with anticipation for the glacier to calve, and were rewarded by several minor falls of ice, but no monstrous blocks of ice fell while we were in the vicinity.
As we headed back down Glacier Bay, we paused to view the ice face of Lamplugh Glacier, its blue ice a demonstration of the ability of thick layers of frozen water to absorb and refract light, letting only the shorter, blue wavelengths to emerge. We continued on toward the mouth of the bay, and after dinner some guests elected to take a hike at Bartlett Cove. We finished the day with a deep appreciation for the power and majesty of glaciers.
