Glacier

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Our first stop (we didn't get off the boat) was at Tracy Arm Fjord to see the glacier.  I wondered if it actually had a name so I checked on Wikipedia and this is the information I gleaned:

Tracy Arm is a fjord in Alaska near Juneau (outlet at 57° 46' 40" N 133° 37' 0" W). It is named after the Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Franklin Tracy. It is located about 45 miles (72 km) south of Juneau and 70 miles (110 km) north of Petersburg, Alaska, off of Holkham Bay and adjacent to Stephens Passage within the Tongass National Forest. Tracy Arm is the heart of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, designated by the United States Congress in 1980.

Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness contains 653,179 acres (2,643.32 km2) and consists of two deep and narrow fjords: Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Both fjords are over 30 miles (48 km) long and one-fifth of their area is covered in ice. During the summer, the fjords have considerable floating ice ranging from hand-sized to pieces as large as a three-story building. During the most recent glaciated period, both fjords were filled with active glaciers.

The most common access is by boat using Stephens Passage and entering Holkham Bay and Tracy and Endicott Arms. Float planes from Juneau and Petersburg are also used as a means of access. Large tour vessels and smaller commercial cruise boats frequently use Tracy Arm as a tour destination or as a stop along their normal tour routes.

What a gorgeous day we had when we sailed up the fjord as the sun was shining and the water was almost glassy calm.  The captain of our vessel got us as close as he could without disturbing the seals lounging on the ice floes.  It is illegal to bother them so zoom lenses certainly help!

Sandy Barton
sandrabarton@shaw.ca
250-245-4382
Blog: swedenole@blogspot.com

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