Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve guide · 1 min read
A Bay Born From Retreating Ice
Before the bay existed, there was ice. In 1794, a survey team from the expedition ship Discovery, captained by George Vancouver, first mapped Glacier Bay in detail, and the survey showed little more than an indentation in the shoreline.
A single large tidewater glacier nearly filled the bay itself. That same year, Joseph Whidbey, who was master of the Discovery, found Icy Strait at the south end choked with ice.
When John Muir arrived in 1879, the ice had withdrawn across nearly the whole length of the bay, a span of about 48 miles. That retreat is what turned an ice-filled inlet into a true bay. Since his trip, scientists from many countries have come to the bay to study its ecosystems.
The Grand Pacific Glacier is the one most credited with carving out the bay. By 1916 it had pulled back to the head of Tarr Inlet, roughly 65 miles from the bay's mouth, and that retreat is the fastest documented for any glacier. Not every glacier is shrinking. Johns Hopkins Glacier has been moving forward at 10 to 15 feet each day, while Margerie Glacier is holding its position.
Tidewater glaciers end in the sea, and when chunks break off their faces, they become icebergs that drift through the bay. Some of these glow bright blue in the sunlight. Pan ice also drifts in Tarr Inlet, and icebergs are a regular part of the view across the bay.
Most people see Glacier Bay from the water, either from the deck of a cruise ship or from a single kayak working through sheltered inlets. Bartlett Cove is the park's one developed area, and it offers a visitor center, trails, a public dock and kayak rentals for getting out on the water.
