Formed during the Little Ice age that began 4,000 years ago, the glaciers we see today are remnants of that time. When Captain George Vancouver discovered this bay, in 1794, the shore was completely covered by ice. This giant glacier was more than 4,000 feet thick and up to 20 miles wide or more and stretched 100 miles to The St. Elias Mountain range.
By 1879 the glacier had retreated 48 miles up the bay and by 1916 the Grand Pacific Glacier was 65 miles from the mouth of the Glacier Bay. There has never been such a rapid retreat anywhere else. Scientists are studying this, hoping to learn more about glacial activity and it's relationship to climate. On the east and southwest side of the bay, glacier retreat continues. Two glaciers are advancing on the west side.
The glaciers and polar ice contain more water than the world's lakes, rivers, groundwater and the atmosphere. If the icecaps were to melt, the change in sea level would flood half of the world's cities. Antarctic and Greenland icecaps are two miles thick.
watch the incredible scenery in Glacier Bay. As we proceed we begin to see small pieces of ice floating in the sea and the color of the water changes from blue, to green then turquoise, depending on where we are. The mountains are a spectacular blue, topped with white. There are 18 calving glaciers in the bay. We pass the Lamplugh at about 9:30. The air is filled with excitement as the rangers give us a discourse over the ship's radio and PA system.
As we continue, someone spots a brown bear and her cub on the beach. The rangers are very excited, as this is a very unusual sighting, This time of year (early June) the bears have normally migrated inland, to fish the rivers. All in all we will see nine bears during the cruise in Glacier Bay, unheard of before this.
As we near the John Hopkins Glacier, we find the inlet is choked up with small icebergs. We see the glacier from afar, showing it's bright 1*blue color from a distance, a color only Mother Nature could paint. We do not proceed, because seals are giving birth on these bergs and we do not wish to disturb them. The sight is awesome. Small bergs with baby seals, sometimes with the mother swimming beside it. We see a mother seal, the bloody afterbirth and her newly born baby, on an ice flow. On others we see seabirds perched, enjoying their ride. What an incredible sight!
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