Залив Ледников: Национальный парк и заповедник на Аляске

Bay in southeastern Alaska
the actual bay

Glacier Bay Basin in southeastern Alaska, in the United States, encompasses the Glacier Bay and surrounding mountains and glaciers, which was first proclaimed a U. S. National Monument on February 25, 1925, and which was later, on December 2, 1980, enlarged and designated as the Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, covering an area of In 1986, UNESCO declared an area of within a World Biosphere Reserve. This is the largest UNESCO protected biosphere in the world. In 1992, UNESCO included this area as a part of a World Heritage site, extending over an area of which also included the Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Kluane National Park (Canada) and Tatshenshini Alsek Park (Canada). Part of the National Park is also designated a Wilderness area covering
Current glaciers cover an area and accounts for 27% of the Park area. Up until the early 1700s the area was a large single glacier of solid ice. It has since retreated and evolved into the largest protected water area park in the world. Glacier Bay, on the Gulf of Alaska, was known as the Grand Pacific Glacier, about 4,000 feet (1219 m) thick and around 20 mile (32 km) in width. Over the last 200 years the glaciers have retreated, exposing 65 mile (105 km) of ocean, and in this process left 20 separate other glaciers in its trail. In 1890, the name "Glacier Bay" as such was given to the bay by Captain Lester A. Beardslee of the U. S. Navy. It was first proclaimed a U. S. National Monument on February 25, 1925, by President Calvin Coolidge. According to a tourism score, the best time to visit Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is from mid July to mid August for activities in warm weather.

The Muir Glacier was named after John Muir, the naturalist, who identified it in 1889. The Muir Glacier was once a tide water glacier with a width of 1.5 mile (2 km), a length of 2 mile (3 km), and a height of 265 feet (81 m). It has now turned into terrestrial glacier; it has receded and does not flow into the sea. Its retreat has been very rapid and well documented since its Little Ice Age maximum position at the mouth of Glacier Bay around 1780. During its retreating stage which began in 1889, calving was intense. The flow was at the rate of about 6000 feet (1829 m) per year or about 16 feet (5 m) per day until 1979 and as a result the glacier became terrestrial by 1993. The flow was reported to be 0.5 feet (0 m) per day between 1999 and 2001. The glacier is now only 0.5 mile (1 km) in width, 150 feet (46 m) in height, and extends for 13 mile (21 km). Morse Glacier is its tributary and is also retreating faster than the Muir. Further, during this process of retreat, glacial till left behind two large deltas extending to a width of about 1400 feet (427 m) at the water edge during low tide.

The Reid Glacier was named by the members of the Harriman Alaska Expedition for Harry Fielding Reid (1859–1944), professor of geology at Johns Hopkins University, who was well known for his studies of glacier flow and stratification in Alaska and the Alps. The glacier has its origin in Brady Icefield and has a flow rate of 15 feet (5 m) per day. At the water edge, its width is 0.75 mile (1 km), rises to a height of 150 feet (46 m) and stretches to a length of 10 mile (16 km) and flows into Bigourdan Fjord. In view of fast rate of retreat, this glacier has turned from tide water to terrestrial glacier, particularly on its eastern and western one third widths. Sediment deposits from the glacier have gradually filled the eastern and western margins at its inlet, as seen during low tides. The central one third of the glacier, however, touches water edge with a recorded depth of 30 feet (9 m) of water, during high tide. The walls of the fjord of the glacier, however, also show marks of lateral deposits of the glaciers right up to rock faces.

The Lamplugh Glacier was named by Lawrence Martin of the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) around 1912 for the English geologist George William Lamplugh (1859–1926), who visited the Glacier Bay in 1884. The Glacier originates in the Brady Icefield to the east of Fairweather Range. The glacier has a width of about 0.75 mile (1 km) at the water face. Its rises to height of with depth of at the waterline. It stretches to over 16 mile (26 km). The ice flow rate from the glacier is estimated at per year and is noted to be receding in the central and eastern part of the ice face due to calving; the western part is, however, seen mostly grounded except during the high tide range. In the central part, a subglacial stream has developed which is seen to shift its position laterally. This phenomenon is attributed to the deposition of fluvial sediment in the embayment. It forms a delta, as observed during low tide. It also results in water turning from brown to tan milky.

The Johns Hopkins Inlet is a stunning 9 mile (14 km) long fjord, which has several tide water glaciers. The Lamplugh Glacier is about 1.5 mile (2 km) away from the inlet and further inside is the Johns Hopkins Glacier, which is now the largest tidewater glacier in Glacier Bay Johns Hopkins Inlet is closed to boats in May and June in order to protect unweaned harbor seal pups.

The Johns Hopkins Glacier rises from the Fairweather Range on the east slopes of Lituya Mountain and Mount Salisbury and has an easterly flow towards the head of Johns Hopkins Inlet, 1 mile (2 km) southwest of the terminus of Clark Glacier and 79 mile (127 km) northwest of Hoonah. Its rock, ice and snow depict a variety of impressive colors such as grey, blue and white. It was named in 1893 by H. F. Reid after the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, which sponsored an expedition to this glacier. It is the only advancing tidewater glacier now (its advance started in 1924 when Grand Pacific Glacier started receding towards Tarr Inlet) and is combined with Gilman Glacier (first got attached to Hopkins in the 1990s, broke off and rejoined several times and once again it appears joined since 2000); both are advancing as one single ice block, and at the waterfront, has a width of 1 mile (2 km) with a depth of 250 feet (76 m), rises to a height of 250 feet (76 m) and stretches to about 12 mile (19 km) upstream. Submarine calving has also been recorded.

The Tarr Inlet at the head of the Glacier Bay is a scene of ice and snow, and "sits cater corner to Johns Hopkins Inlet". This inlet provides excellent views of the Grand Pacific Glacier to its north and the Margerie Glacier to its west. The west shore line of this inlet is steep and rocky, extends to 4 mile (6 km) up to a small stream where a beach has been formed. A further 3 mile (5 km) along the channel, a glacier knob is seen in the center of the west shore of the inlet. A cove formation here provides for good camping grounds, where strong winds and ice flows are experienced. This location also provides a panoramic view of the Tarr Inlet. Two miles north of this location is the Margerie Glacier. Grand Pacific Glacier is located to the east side of the Margerie Glacier at the head of the Tarr Inlet where extensive gravel outwash is seen. From Grand Pacific, the Tarr Inlet continues for 5 mile (8 km) with steep gravel shore line interspersed with minor streams separated by gravel outwash. Located at the deep end of the Glacier Bay, Margerie Glacier extends over a width of about 1 mile (2 km) and extends upstream for a length of 21 mile (34 km) till its source on the southern slopes of the hill of Mount Root, at the Alaska Canada border. Mount Root (elevation 12860 feet (3920 m)), named Boundary Peak 165, is a mountain in Alaska and British Columbia, is part of the Fairweather Range of the Saint Elias Mountains.

The Grand Pacific Glacier, at the head of the Tarr Inlet on the north, has a streaked face covered with gravel and stones (more than 3 feet (1 m)) thick in many areas). Landslides and medial moraines cover much of eastern side of the glacier extending to about two thirds width of the ice face. It is not an active glacier. In the earlier 18th century, it was a one single block of ice at the Gulf of Alaska, when Captain Vancouver first saw it, which has receded to the present location that is 65 mile (105 km)) from the Glacier Bay inlet. At the present site, Grand Pacific Glacier has a width of 2 mile (3 km)) with a water depth of 30 feet (9 m)) and with an average height of 150 feet (46 m)) and stretches to 35 mile (56 km)). It calves into the Tarr Inlet and its western two thirds part is formed by the tributary Ferris Glacier. Its flow rate is reported to be about 1500 feet (457 m)) per year or about 4 feet (1 m)) per day. However, the eastern part of the Glacier is reportedly moving at the rate of about ) per year. Margerie Glacier had merged with this glacier in 1992. As the glacier started receding it got demerged from Margerie and only a small stream separates the two glaciers now. in the Hoonah Angoon Census Area. In between, it goes through the southeastern corner of Yakutat Borough. Peaks of this range include Mount Fairweather, the highest point in British Columbia and Mount Quincy Adams
Between the bay and the coast, snow clad peaks of the Fairweather Range capture the moisture coming in off the Gulf of Alaska and, in turn, spawn the park's largest glaciers. Mt. Fairweather is the tallest peak in the Fairweather Range and is very much unlike its name as it has a very harsh terrain. Mt. Fairweather

The Mt. Fairweather (officially gazetted as Fairweather Mountain in Canada but referred to as Mount Fairweather), is located east of the Pacific Ocean in the Glacier Bay region. While most of the mountain lies within the City and Borough of Yakutat, the summit is also in Tatshenshini Alsek Provincial Park, British Columbia (Canada), making it the highest point in that province. It is also designated as Boundary Peak 164 or as US/Canada Boundary Point #164. The mountain was named on May 3, 1778, by Captain James Cook, apparently for the unusually good weather encountered at the time. The name has been variously translated. It was called "Mt. Beautemps" by La Perouse (1786, atlas), "Mte. Buen tiempo" by Galiano (1802, map 3), "Gor[a] Khoroshy pogody" on Russian Hydrographic Service Chart 1378 in 1847, and "G[ora] Fayerveder" by Captain Tebenkov (1852, map 7), Imperial Russian Navy. It was called "Schonwetterberg" by Constantin Grewink in 1850 and "Schonwetter Berg" by Justus Perthes in 1882. Mt. Fairweather was first climbed in 1931 by Allen Carpé and Terris Moore.