Tracy Arm, Alaska
Passengers of the Sea Bird arrived in Juneau on a sunny afternoon that was well suited for a visit to the spectacular Mendenhall Glacier. After a beautiful afternoon and evening in Juneau, the group embarked for cocktails and dinner on board. On June 7, we awoke early in response to the bright light from the sun which bathed the ship by 5 am. By 6 am, the Sea Bird was circling in front of the spectacular face of Sawyer Glacier at the eastern terminus of Tracy Arm. The ice shone brilliantly in the sun showing the dark blue color, characteristic of clean coarsely crystalline glacial ice near the water and white, less smooth surfaces higher up the cliff of ice. Clean rock surfaces unfettered with vegetation provided evidence of the glaciers recent retreat. We were treated to calving ice as we pondered the white and black layered metamorphic rock or gneiss cut by light grey bands of igneous rock, formed as fractures in the gneiss filled with hot liquid rock that crystallized into tabular bodies known as dikes.
The afternoon brought blue skies and sun as we made our way down the long and sinuous glacially carved valley, or fiord, of Tracy Arm. The journey was punctuated with numerous views of glacially carved rock forms (for example, U-shaped valleys and striations along the cliffs) and geologic evidence for the tectonic forces that caused the development of the Coast Mountains between 90 and 60 million years ago.
The Sea Bird turned north into Williams Cove about 1 pm and we anchored for a wonderful afternoon of kayaking and hiking. The setting was idyllic, as we remained anchored for dinner. Following dinner, the Sea Bird proceeded past Mt. Sumdum and Harbor Island as we departed Holkham Bay. The sun slipped down behind the mountains as we turned south down Stephens Passage toward Petersburg.
Passengers of the Sea Bird arrived in Juneau on a sunny afternoon that was well suited for a visit to the spectacular Mendenhall Glacier. After a beautiful afternoon and evening in Juneau, the group embarked for cocktails and dinner on board. On June 7, we awoke early in response to the bright light from the sun which bathed the ship by 5 am. By 6 am, the Sea Bird was circling in front of the spectacular face of Sawyer Glacier at the eastern terminus of Tracy Arm. The ice shone brilliantly in the sun showing the dark blue color, characteristic of clean coarsely crystalline glacial ice near the water and white, less smooth surfaces higher up the cliff of ice. Clean rock surfaces unfettered with vegetation provided evidence of the glaciers recent retreat. We were treated to calving ice as we pondered the white and black layered metamorphic rock or gneiss cut by light grey bands of igneous rock, formed as fractures in the gneiss filled with hot liquid rock that crystallized into tabular bodies known as dikes.
The afternoon brought blue skies and sun as we made our way down the long and sinuous glacially carved valley, or fiord, of Tracy Arm. The journey was punctuated with numerous views of glacially carved rock forms (for example, U-shaped valleys and striations along the cliffs) and geologic evidence for the tectonic forces that caused the development of the Coast Mountains between 90 and 60 million years ago.
The Sea Bird turned north into Williams Cove about 1 pm and we anchored for a wonderful afternoon of kayaking and hiking. The setting was idyllic, as we remained anchored for dinner. Following dinner, the Sea Bird proceeded past Mt. Sumdum and Harbor Island as we departed Holkham Bay. The sun slipped down behind the mountains as we turned south down Stephens Passage toward Petersburg.
