Glacier Bay National Park

Our most spectacular glacier-viewing was in Glacier Bay National Park. Our ship spent time near Margorie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier. Margorie Glacier is at the end of Glacier Bay. The cruise up the bay included awesome scenery and a whale sighting.

National Park rangers joined us onboard the Sapphire Princess and provided information, education, and commentary over the course of the cruise into the Bay. Margorie Glacier is exactly what first-time glacier watchers would expect to see. It's massive! Parts 

of it extend 25 miles up into the mountain valley. (See Picture 4.) When our ship was within a quarter of a mile, the glacier towered over the ship. Magorie is an old glacier--blue color indicates tremendous compression the result of up to 300 years of snowfall. 

When you get anywhere close to a glacier, you begin to hear the sounds of shifting and cracking. If you're lucky, you'll hear the sound of a glacier "calving," as chunks of ice from the leading edge break off and fall into the bay. (See picture 3.)

For historical purposes, during the Little Ice Age (in the 1700s), there was only one glacier in Glacier Bay. It covered the entire bay and extended into the ocean and was reportedly 4000 feet thick at the leading edge. If you look at a map of Alaska, you can get a perspective on the change. Margorie today is miles away from what would have been the leading edge of the glacier in the 1700s.