Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve protects 8 tidewater glaciers scattered around its famed namesake bay. The geology is relatively recent: when the first European explorers visited in 1750 they encountered a single sheet of ice. By 1879 the ice had already receded back 77km and now currently has retreated some 105km. It is a beautiful, stark landscape, with mountains of ice that dramatically calve (crumble) into the bay like claps of thunder, and a variety of animals including whales and bald eagles that I saw on my short trip. I visited by cruise ship (and I always felt bad about that, but small boats and cruise ships are currently the only way to visit), and watched the landscape straight on from right before sunrise to late afternoon (with a short break for lunch) when the ship finally left. I ended up being cold, tired, and hungry, but it was totally worth it.

Courtesy of  theRoguez!

The Velvet Underground - Stephanie Says