ALASKA
Glacier Bay
July 2023
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GLACIER BAY!!!!!!
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Today, we spent the entire day at sea cruising the ice-studded fjords of this national treasure, Glacier Bay National Park. Glacier Bay is a must see when you cruise Alaska (especially your first time cruising to Alaska). Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve is only accessible by water or by air. All private motor boats entering the Bay in the summer months must get permit. Permits are free but limited in number. This system is in place in order to control the amount of traffic in the Bay and limit the impacts.
About 80% of visitors to Glacier Bay arrive on cruise ships. Glacier Bay is the jewel of any Alaska cruise. Only a few cruise ship companies have permits to enter Glacier Bay. Holland America Line and Princess Cruises hold about 70 percent of the Glacier Bay permits. The companies with the large ship permits have agreed to protocols such as using lighter marine diesel instead of heavy fuels, eschewing single-use plastics, and controlling discharges to reduce the impacts. Cruising speeds are also tightly regulated. Only two cruise ships per day are permitted to enter the Bay. The other ship visiting today was Sapphire Princess. They entered the Bay about two hours after us. We will be traveling over 120 miles while slowing cruising through the Bay.
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Covering 3.3 million acres (the size of the entire state of Connecticut) of rugged mountains, dynamic glaciers, temperate rainforest, wild coastlines, and deep sheltered fjords, Glacier Bay National Park is a highlight of the Inside Passage and part of a 25-million acre UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is one of the world’s largest international protected areas.
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The water in Glacier Bay is an amazing turquoise color. The color is due to the "glacial flour" which is the very, very fine sediment that comes off the glaciers. Because this sediment is so fine, it is easily transported by and suspended in water. It is responsible for the cloudy or milky appearance of the bodies of water that are fed by glaciers.
The place is magical. As we cruised through Glacier Bay, clearly audible are the creaks and groans of the “living” ice. Snow covered mountain peaks rise up over green forests, wide tidewater glaciers (there are seven in the park), and marine wildlife are abundant in Glacier Bay. These glaciers are known as "tidewater glaciers" because they are fed by enough snow to bring them from the mountains to the sea.
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The weather as we entered the Bay was foggy and calm. As we got closer to the glaciers, the fog cleared and the skies were sunny. The temps were in the mid-60s. This amazing weather only happens a few times a year. We were truly fortunate.
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Early in the day, National Park Service rangers boarded the ship from a smaller boat ... while the ship and boat were still in motion!! ... and they narrated as we cruised through the Bay. They also provided informational programs throughout the day and brought items from the visitor center and gift shop onboard ship.
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The ship's crew opens the bow section of Deck 5 on the ship to passengers during the visit to Glacier Bay to allow us to get the best view of the glaciers. People crowd the rail to get a good view, but the bow area is large enough that everyone can get the opportunity to view the sites. I also set up my GoPro camera on my balcony to capture the sites as we cruised.
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We cruise slowly to get to the tidewater glaciers 65 miles from the mouth of the bay, which allows for a lot of wildlife and scenery viewing.
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We first viewed Reid glacier which is an 11 mile long glacier connected to the vast Brady Icefield.
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We first went up to Margerie glacier. This glacier is named for French geologist and geographer Emmanuel de Margerie who visited the area in 1913. It flows forward about 6 feet per day. The ice falls into the water in a process called calving, breaking into icebergs. The icebergs become resting spots for harbor seals, sea otters, bald eagles, gulls, and other birds. The glacier is about 21 miles long, about a mile wide at the face, and 350 feet high. It's BIG! The ship is able to get closer to Margerie glacier than Johns Hopkins.
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Adjacent to Margerie glacier is Grand Pacific glacier, most of which is in Canada. The Grand Pacific is the main glacier credited with carving out Glacier Bay itself. Rock debris from landslides and medial moraines cover much of the lower ice causing it to have a dark brown color. Yeah, it looks dirty! It is 1.35 miles wide at the terminus, with an ice face ranging from 65-165 feet. Its length is over 20 miles.
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​At the end of the inlet in front of these giant glaciers, the ship does a very slow 180 degree turn so that the views are possible from anywhere on the ship. (Thank you bow and stern thrusters!) (For the boat nerds, the ship is propelled by Azipods.)
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After an hour viewing these magnificent glaciers, we went back south toward Johns Hopkins inlet.
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Before we entered the mouth of Johns Hopkins inlet, we viewed Lamplugh glacier. This glacier is about 8 miles long, 0.75 miles, wide, and about 150 feet high where it meets the water.
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As we rounded Jaw Point to enter Johns Hopkins Inlet, we saw the smaller Topeka glacier, which is entirely on land, on the starboard side. During certain parts of the year, ships cannot go all the way up into Johns Hopkins inlet because it is the area where the harbor seals birth their babies, so we viewed Johns Hopkins glacier from the mouth of the inlet. The glacier is about a mile wide and 250 feet high above the waterline. The ice front extends under water level to a depth of about 200 feet. While many glaciers are receding, this glacier is actually advancing.
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On the map below, you can see the location of the glaciers throughout the years ... all the way out to the entrance of the Bay at Icy Strait in 1750.
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On the way cruising through the Bay we saw LOTS of otters and and some seals playing in the water along with all the ice floating in the water.
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Glacier Bay National Park works continuously to preserve this pristine area. In order to keep people and whales safe in this area, Glacier Bay is collaborating with several organizations to develop best practices to minimize the chance of a whale-ship collision. For the past 10 years, Glacier Bay scientists have worked with experienced marine pilots to test and implement techniques for avoiding whales. A new training program currently under joint production will provide marine pilots the opportunity to practice whale avoidance techniques in a simulator. This training curriculum is the first of its kind to combine the science of whale behavior with the professional discipline of ship maneuvering.
Another collaborative tool is Whale Alert. Throughout southeast Alaska, cruise ship pilots and biologists are working to produce near real-time whale sighting maps through a smart phone application. Ships can then avoid current locations where whales are congregating, thereby reducing the risk of a collision.
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What an fantastic experience! Simply amazing, breathtaking, spectacular ... there are not enough adjectives to describe it.
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Sorry, not sorry for the volume of pictures. ;)
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Tomorrow, we will be cruising all day in the Gulf of Alaska and visiting Prince William Sound and College Fjord in the late afternoon. We will be traveling 464 nautical miles between Glacier Bay and College Fjord.
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"To the lover of pure wildness Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world. ... it seems as if surely we must at length reach the very paradise of the poets, the abode of the blessed." - John Muir, Travels in Alaska
