Glacier Bay is a National Park in South East Alaska and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are no roads in or out of the bay yet it receives around half a million visitors a year, most on cruise ships which have access to the bay in summer months. To preserve the area only a small number of ships are allowed to enter the bay each day. The photograph below gives you some idea of scale as the cruise ships are not that small!
Our visit was the highlight of a cruise which had taken in Ketchikan, Haines and Juneau in Alaska. We had the most perfect August day with clear blue skies and a relatively mild temperature. The area is absolutely stunning. a true wilderness area and so peaceful despite being on a huge ship.
The whole bay was full of ice 250 years ago but there has been a gradual retreat of the ice since then. Nevertheless the glaciers are remarkable. There are seven tidewater glaciers in the bay of these four regularly calve icebergs I to the waters of the bay. We spent an hour in front of the Margerie Glacier. At 21 miles in length and a height of 250 feet above sea level it is an impressive sight. For our visit is was calving only small pieces of ice. It remains a spectacular sight even so.
I was struck by how different the glaciers were, each had its own apparent personality. They vary in colour, from ice blue to almost black if they are carrying lots of rubble in them and the ice itself is packed into different shapes. Some are noisy with rumbling, cracking and creaking while others are deathly quiet. Some give the appearance of being awake and active and others slumbering. All are moving but some are faster than others.
The water of the bay is slightly cloudy from the glacial silt released as the glaciers reach the water and calve.
An unforgettable experience and a most beautiful day.
