Tracy Arm/ Ford’s Terror, Southeast Alaska
A full day of visual, auditory and olfactory experience was had by all before breakfast. This is not to say that the rest of the day was boring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today started with the chill of the glacier winds lofting down on us in the upper end of Tracy Arm, a deep fjord southeast of Juneau. The “Arm” is a combination of two “exotic terrains” that crashed together millions of years ago while parts of it were transformed by heat and pressure in a process called metamorphosis. The next or should I say the last major land-shaping occurrence were 3 periods of glaciation. This formed the classic U-shaped valleys we observed today. The calving glaciers from the last ice age are now receding leaving huge chunks of blue ice. These chunks of ice roll and tumble through the water and form into wonderful sculptures. The succession of plant life we learned in Glacier Bay illustrates how recent this area has been released from the ice. Some added pleasures were close up view of mother and pup harbour seals while bald eagles soared overhead. We also made a stop at “ Hole-In-The-Wall” where everyone who desired could partake in an outdoor shower on the bow of the ship.
We then continued to cruise down Tracy Arm witnessing the huge cracks and fissures created by 10 thousand years of earthquakes and land shifts of the distance past. Many of the cracks have filled with quartz and molten material that was extrused from deep inside the earth. But it is the sheer size of the mountain walls that were so impressive, raising three to four thousand feet straight up. It was the milky aqua-marine color of the water and the warm of the sun against the chill of the melting ice.
After a fabulous deck picnic prepared by the amazing hotel staff of the Sea Lion, we cruised into Endicott Arm. Once the anchor was set, we sped off in the fleet of Zodiacs to explore Ford’s Terror. This unusual fjord has a challenging narrow entrance. The rush of water in and out during the flood and ebb tides make the experience a groovy ride. Those who travel inside the inlet are treated to spectacular waterfalls that carve huge fissures in the rock and slide over the smooth granite face of the cliffs. Some of these cliffs there are shear rock walls of 800 to 1000 feet high. After zipping back to the Sea Lion and a short rest, we heard our expedition leader talk about the differences between wild salmon and farmed salmon and its effect on the Alaskan fishery. Tomorrow we head home and to new exciting adventures.
A full day of visual, auditory and olfactory experience was had by all before breakfast. This is not to say that the rest of the day was boring. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today started with the chill of the glacier winds lofting down on us in the upper end of Tracy Arm, a deep fjord southeast of Juneau. The “Arm” is a combination of two “exotic terrains” that crashed together millions of years ago while parts of it were transformed by heat and pressure in a process called metamorphosis. The next or should I say the last major land-shaping occurrence were 3 periods of glaciation. This formed the classic U-shaped valleys we observed today. The calving glaciers from the last ice age are now receding leaving huge chunks of blue ice. These chunks of ice roll and tumble through the water and form into wonderful sculptures. The succession of plant life we learned in Glacier Bay illustrates how recent this area has been released from the ice. Some added pleasures were close up view of mother and pup harbour seals while bald eagles soared overhead. We also made a stop at “ Hole-In-The-Wall” where everyone who desired could partake in an outdoor shower on the bow of the ship.
We then continued to cruise down Tracy Arm witnessing the huge cracks and fissures created by 10 thousand years of earthquakes and land shifts of the distance past. Many of the cracks have filled with quartz and molten material that was extrused from deep inside the earth. But it is the sheer size of the mountain walls that were so impressive, raising three to four thousand feet straight up. It was the milky aqua-marine color of the water and the warm of the sun against the chill of the melting ice.
After a fabulous deck picnic prepared by the amazing hotel staff of the Sea Lion, we cruised into Endicott Arm. Once the anchor was set, we sped off in the fleet of Zodiacs to explore Ford’s Terror. This unusual fjord has a challenging narrow entrance. The rush of water in and out during the flood and ebb tides make the experience a groovy ride. Those who travel inside the inlet are treated to spectacular waterfalls that carve huge fissures in the rock and slide over the smooth granite face of the cliffs. Some of these cliffs there are shear rock walls of 800 to 1000 feet high. After zipping back to the Sea Lion and a short rest, we heard our expedition leader talk about the differences between wild salmon and farmed salmon and its effect on the Alaskan fishery. Tomorrow we head home and to new exciting adventures.
