Mother Nature has created the most amazing formation of limestone at a place called Basket Bay in Southeast Alaska. And today we got to see it! Limestone from perhaps 350 million years ago was originally formed somewhere in what we today know as the south Pacific. This ‘exotic terrane’ was transported on the Pacific Plate until it was accreted or docked with the edge of the North American continent. That enormous pile up took place about 100 million years ago!
Waiting for the tide to fill up the bay, so that we could access the small stream that pours down from a nearby lake, guests and staff from the expedition explored the intertidal area and forest margins by foot. Some kayaked the choppy waters in search of adventure. As it rose, the tide made the entry to a nearby limestone grotto easier by boat. So late in the morning we were off once again in expedition landing craft.
Entering the mystical subterranean world was like magic. Each expedition landing craft methodically picked its way through the partial submerged rocks that lay there to block our progress. The full skill of the boat operators was needed to navigate the labyrinth. Once inside the still air of the grotto, the sounds of the trickling stream and the wind whipping through surrounding forest outside provided the background soundtrack to this amazing scene.
In the afternoon, National Geographic Sea Lion pressed on through the blustery Chatham Strait into Hanus Bay in the Peril Strait. Arriving at the anchorage, we went ashore for hikes along the lovely Lake Eva trail. The pristine stream, waterfall, and lake above await this year’s run of salmon; as do the animals and trees of the forest in the annual cycle of life and death that nourish them all.
It has been an incredible week of exploration aboard National Geographic Sea Lion; and our photographic expedition has shown and taught us all so very much.
