Endicott Arm, Alaska
Once virtually all of what we now know as Southeast Alaska was covered by ice. In fact, for the last 2.5 million years, that has been the most frequent or usual condition. The most recent retreat of the ice began at the onset of the present, warm interglacial interlude a mere 14,000 years ago. The retreat of the glaciers left behind a landscape shaped by ice. Where glaciers carved below present sea level water has replaced ice to form fjords, the waterways of southeast Alaska. This morning the Sea Lion sailed up one such passage. Endicott Arm cuts into the mainland of Alaska, nearly reaching British Columbia. We gathered on the bow in clear, crisp morning air to drink in the incredible scenery of Alaska. Vertical faces of granite lined the fjord. Far overhead was evidence of the massive depth of the glaciers: rounded domes of rock smoothed by the passage of the ice, and U-shaped hanging valleys marking where tributary glaciers once joined the main stream of ice. We stopped to look at mountain goats scampering up impossibly steep slopes. As the season progresses they will follow the flush of new, green vegetation to higher elevations, so they are most accessible to our binoculars and cameras now, as a new growth is just beginning to appear. Endicott Arm ends abruptly at the face of Dawes Glacier, one of the most striking in all of Alaska with its brilliant blue color. The Sea Lion pushed through a field of brash ice, small chunks of ice calved from the face of the glacier as the ice completes its inexorable march to the sea. We boarded Zodiacs to cruise closer, marveling at pinnacles of clear blue ice defying gravity, surely ready to fall at any moment. But they didn’t.
We made our way back down Endicott Arm. At its base, where it joins Tracy Arm, is our afternoon destination of Williams Cove. As we entered this quiet bay, black and white killer whales were spotted, and we rushed back to the decks. There were four whales of the “transient,” mammal-eating type. An adult male was easily identified by its tall, triangular dorsal fin, but he cannot be considered the leader of the pack; that role belongs to the senior female of the group. “Transients” can be thought of as “stealth whales” moving swiftly and silently, spending most of their time below the surface as they search for an unfortunate seal or porpoise for their next meal. Finding Williams Cove lacking in potential prey, they turned and departed to search elsewhere. Our fleet of multi-colored kayaks came down from the top deck, and we spent the late afternoon gliding gracefully over the quiet water, and walking into the forest for a first glimpse of the Temperate Rainforest in its early-spring aspect.
Once virtually all of what we now know as Southeast Alaska was covered by ice. In fact, for the last 2.5 million years, that has been the most frequent or usual condition. The most recent retreat of the ice began at the onset of the present, warm interglacial interlude a mere 14,000 years ago. The retreat of the glaciers left behind a landscape shaped by ice. Where glaciers carved below present sea level water has replaced ice to form fjords, the waterways of southeast Alaska. This morning the Sea Lion sailed up one such passage. Endicott Arm cuts into the mainland of Alaska, nearly reaching British Columbia. We gathered on the bow in clear, crisp morning air to drink in the incredible scenery of Alaska. Vertical faces of granite lined the fjord. Far overhead was evidence of the massive depth of the glaciers: rounded domes of rock smoothed by the passage of the ice, and U-shaped hanging valleys marking where tributary glaciers once joined the main stream of ice. We stopped to look at mountain goats scampering up impossibly steep slopes. As the season progresses they will follow the flush of new, green vegetation to higher elevations, so they are most accessible to our binoculars and cameras now, as a new growth is just beginning to appear. Endicott Arm ends abruptly at the face of Dawes Glacier, one of the most striking in all of Alaska with its brilliant blue color. The Sea Lion pushed through a field of brash ice, small chunks of ice calved from the face of the glacier as the ice completes its inexorable march to the sea. We boarded Zodiacs to cruise closer, marveling at pinnacles of clear blue ice defying gravity, surely ready to fall at any moment. But they didn’t.
We made our way back down Endicott Arm. At its base, where it joins Tracy Arm, is our afternoon destination of Williams Cove. As we entered this quiet bay, black and white killer whales were spotted, and we rushed back to the decks. There were four whales of the “transient,” mammal-eating type. An adult male was easily identified by its tall, triangular dorsal fin, but he cannot be considered the leader of the pack; that role belongs to the senior female of the group. “Transients” can be thought of as “stealth whales” moving swiftly and silently, spending most of their time below the surface as they search for an unfortunate seal or porpoise for their next meal. Finding Williams Cove lacking in potential prey, they turned and departed to search elsewhere. Our fleet of multi-colored kayaks came down from the top deck, and we spent the late afternoon gliding gracefully over the quiet water, and walking into the forest for a first glimpse of the Temperate Rainforest in its early-spring aspect.
