Scenic Cruising - Oh Say, Can You See ... the Glaciers
Monday, July 7th and Tuesday, July 8th
Our next two days are what they call sea days. Most everyone knows that LeRoy likes his sea days. While most sea days are just about traveling to the next stop, these next two days we were going to get as up close and personal with some big blocks of ice called glaciers.
First up is Hubbard Glacier. Hubbard is North America’s largest tidewater glacier, which means that it ends up in the ocean vs ending on land. Pieces of it “calve off” or shed icebergs. Tidewater glaciers can advance or retreat and are influenced by climate and changes in the climate.
the icy waters around Hubbard
Hubbard Glacier is 76 miles long, 7 miles wide and about 600
feet tall. 350 feet above the water line
and 250 feet below. Glaciers form when
snow accumulates over many years. The weight
of snow compresses over time and transforms the older snow into “firn” which is
a granular form of ice and eventually into glacial ice. Hubbard Glacier is thought to be about 400
years old. Glacial silt or "flour" also forms as the glaciers grind against bedrock. This makes the water look milky or sometimes turquoise.
While sea life is abundant in the area, including whales, seals, otters and lots of birds, we didn’t spot any whales. The captain opened up the bow for our scenic cruising, and we also had some awesome views from the balcony off our room. We did see some seals and sea lions sunning themselves though.
While we are not
allowed to go right up to the ice, we can get as close as a half mile away from
it if conditions are right. The area is
full of icebergs of various sizes and remember that any ice you see above the
water is much bigger below the water. It
is a very impressive sight. Our photos
cannot do it justice, so think very big and imagine the awesomeness.
Before I get ahead of myself, I need to tell you some general facts. It is estimated that there are about 100,000 glaciers in Alaska alone, covering about 5 percent of the total land mass. While several of them have names, the vast majority do not. Perhaps if you get adventurous, you can don your adventure boots and move up to the frozen tundra and do some exploring. Perhaps you can name a few too!
Our second sea day took us into Glacier Bay. The Tlingits (pronounced "Klingets") are the Indigenous people here in this region of Southeast Alaska, and their descendants still live here today.
This day took us specifically to Marjerie Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier. While these two glaciers are not as big as Hubbard, they are impressive in their own right. Both are tidewater glaciers. Marjerie Glacier is a very clean glacier, with little glacial moraine (a word that we learned in Balderdash with Melba & Jet!) Glacial moraine is the debris that a glacier accumulates or creates as it moves. Kind of like a river and the materials it picks up and deposits as it runs. Marjerie Glacier is 21 miles long, and about 250 feet high with a base 100 feet below the surface.
Closer up to Margerie
Like Lamplugh Glacier, they are both pretty active glaciers for ice calving. Marjerie is a fairly fast-moving glacier, moving as much as 2000 feet per year or about 6 feet a day.
Glacier Bay is a special place indeed. Thanks for floating through it with us! Tomorrow, we will be back on land, in Skagway. See you there!
LeRoy and Vialula
P.S. If you notice we are late in posting, we have learned that a 7 day cruise is a much more rushed pace than the world cruise. The pace is one that doesn't allow much time for rest and relaxation, let alone time for blogging, but we will catch up! Who knew how much time it takes time to eat, drink, listen to music and dance, go to shows and lectures, and go on excursions?! Did we mention eat and drink?!
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