Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve | |
---|---|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)[1] | |
Location | Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska, United States |
Nearest city | Juneau |
Coordinates | 58°30′N 137°00′W / 58.500°N 137.000°W |
Area | 3,223,384 acres (13,044.57 km2)[2] |
Established | December 2, 1980 |
Visitors | 545,758 (in 2022)[3] |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Website | Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve |
Part of | Kluane / Wrangell–St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek |
Criteria | Natural: (vii), (viii), (ix), (x) |
Reference | 72ter |
Inscription | 1979 (3rd Session) |
Extensions | 1992, 1994 |
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is an American national park located in Southeast Alaska west of Juneau. President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the area around Glacier Bay a national monument under the Antiquities Act on February 26, 1925.[4] Subsequent to an expansion of the monument by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) enlarged the national monument by 523,000 acres (817.2 sq mi; 2,116.5 km2) on December 2, 1980, and created Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.[5] The national preserve encompasses 58,406 acres (91.3 sq mi; 236.4 km2) of public land to the immediate northwest of the park, protecting a portion of the Alsek River with its fish and wildlife habitats, while allowing sport hunting.
Glacier Bay became part of a binational
Geology
The west side of the bay consists of a 26,000 feet thick sequence of
Glacial advances occurred 7,000, 5,000 and 500 years ago, with the last extending to the entrance of the bay, where it left a huge semicircular
A
According to MacKevett et al., "The most extensive and best gold placer deposits...are in the beach sands near Lituya Bay." Mining of these sands started in 1894, employing up to 200 men by 1896. However, most production had ended by 1917.[11]
The granodiorite and quartz diorite area between Lamplugh Glacier and Reid Glacier contains most of the quartz vein gold lodes, which were produced by six mines. This is known as the Reid Inlet gold area. The Monarch Mines and the Incas Mine was discovered in 1924 by J. Ibach. The Monarch No. 1 and No. 2 veins were drift mined with 200 and 150 foot adits respectively. The LeRoy Mine was the largest though, discovered in 1938 by Gustavus founder and resident A.L. Parker and his son L.F. Parker. They operated a two-stamp mill and an aerial tramway. Most production had ceased by 1945 though.[11][12]
The region experiences tectonic activity with frequent earthquakes. Earthquake-induced landslides have been significant forces for change, inducing tsunamis.[13] Additionally, parts of the region are undergoing post-glacial rebound (also known as isostatic rebound), the process in which land rises after the weight of the glacier has been removed.[14]
Geography
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve occupies the northernmost section of the southeastern Alaska coastline, between the
No roads lead to the park and it is most easily reached by air or sea travel. The
Climate
According to the
Climate data for Glacier Bay, Alaska, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1966–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 52 (11) |
53 (12) |
55 (13) |
73 (23) |
77 (25) |
82 (28) |
81 (27) |
81 (27) |
71 (22) |
63 (17) |
53 (12) |
53 (12) |
82 (28) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 42.3 (5.7) |
42.9 (6.1) |
46.8 (8.2) |
56.6 (13.7) |
67.3 (19.6) |
74.2 (23.4) |
72.2 (22.3) |
72.3 (22.4) |
62.7 (17.1) |
54.6 (12.6) |
45.9 (7.7) |
42.7 (5.9) |
74.6 (23.7) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 31.6 (−0.2) |
33.5 (0.8) |
36.9 (2.7) |
45.5 (7.5) |
54.0 (12.2) |
59.1 (15.1) |
60.7 (15.9) |
60.0 (15.6) |
53.5 (11.9) |
45.0 (7.2) |
36.5 (2.5) |
33.2 (0.7) |
45.8 (7.7) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 28.5 (−1.9) |
29.7 (−1.3) |
32.3 (0.2) |
39.3 (4.1) |
46.6 (8.1) |
52.2 (11.2) |
54.6 (12.6) |
54.0 (12.2) |
48.4 (9.1) |
41.0 (5.0) |
33.4 (0.8) |
30.3 (−0.9) |
40.9 (4.9) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 25.5 (−3.6) |
26.0 (−3.3) |
27.7 (−2.4) |
33.0 (0.6) |
39.2 (4.0) |
45.3 (7.4) |
48.5 (9.2) |
47.9 (8.8) |
43.3 (6.3) |
37.0 (2.8) |
30.4 (−0.9) |
27.3 (−2.6) |
35.9 (2.2) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 10.9 (−11.7) |
13.3 (−10.4) |
14.5 (−9.7) |
24.6 (−4.1) |
29.2 (−1.6) |
36.9 (2.7) |
42.3 (5.7) |
40.8 (4.9) |
32.2 (0.1) |
26.3 (−3.2) |
17.9 (−7.8) |
13.1 (−10.5) |
4.9 (−15.1) |
Record low °F (°C) | −11 (−24) |
−4 (−20) |
−5 (−21) |
17 (−8) |
20 (−7) |
26 (−3) |
37 (3) |
32 (0) |
21 (−6) |
3 (−16) |
0 (−18) |
−3 (−19) |
−11 (−24) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 6.71 (170) |
4.76 (121) |
4.35 (110) |
3.38 (86) |
3.06 (78) |
2.83 (72) |
4.76 (121) |
5.97 (152) |
9.16 (233) |
10.16 (258) |
8.51 (216) |
8.95 (227) |
72.60 (1,844) |
Average snowfall inches (cm) | 28.0 (71) |
19.7 (50) |
15.6 (40) |
2.3 (5.8) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.1 (2.8) |
16.0 (41) |
22.6 (57) |
105.3 (267.6) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 21.9 | 14.3 | 14.0 | 14.1 | 15.4 | 12.3 | 15.1 | 17.9 | 21.8 | 23.1 | 20.5 | 20.9 | 211.3 |
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 10.8 | 7.6 | 6.3 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 5.2 | 8.8 | 40.3 |
Source: NOAA[21][22] |
Environment
Glacier Bay National Park preserves nearly 600,000 acres (2428.1 km2) of federally protected marine ecosystems in Alaska (including submerged lands) against which other less-protected marine ecosystems can be compared.
Glaciers
The Park is named for its abundant tidewater and terrestrial glaciers, numbering 1,045 in total.[23]
There are seven tidewater glaciers in the park: Margerie Glacier, Grand Pacific Glacier, McBride Glacier, Lamplugh Glacier, Johns Hopkins Glacier, Gilman Glacier, and LaPerouse Glacier.[24] (High tide-water glaciers also include Riggs Glacier, Reid Glacier, Lituya Glacier, and North Crillon Glacier.[25]) Four of these glaciers actively calve icebergs into the bay. In the 1990s, the Muir Glacier receded to the point that it was no longer a tidewater glacier. The advance and recession of the park's glaciers has been extensively documented since La Perouse visited the bay in 1786. According to the U.S. National Park Service, "In general, tidewater and terrestrial glaciers in the Park have been thinning and slowly receding over the last several decades."[26] Some glaciers continue to advance, including Johns Hopkins Glacier and glaciers in Lituya Bay.
Glacial retreat
Joseph Whidbey, master of the Discovery during the 1791–95 Vancouver expedition, found Icy Strait, at the south end of Glacier Bay, choked with ice in 1794. Glacier Bay itself was almost entirely covered by one large tidewater glacier.[27] In 1879 naturalist John Muir found that the ice had retreated almost all the way up the bay, a distance of around 48 miles (77 km).[28] By 1916 the Grand Pacific Glacier was at the head of Tarr Inlet about 65 miles (105 km) from Glacier Bay's mouth. This is the fastest documented glacier retreat.[18] Not all of the park's glaciers are in retreat. Two examples are the Johns Hopkins Glacier which, according to observations in 2012, has been advancing at the rate of 10 to 15 ft (3.0 to 4.6 m) per day, and the Margerie Glacier which is stable, neither advancing nor retreating.[18] Scientists working in the park and preserve hope to learn how glacial activity relates to climate change.
Ecosystems
Wet tundra along with Sitka spruce and Western hemlock forests are mainly found in the Lower bay. In the Upper bay there are tidewater glaciers and from the newly deglaciated land are the post-glacial meadows. In the peaks of Glacier Bay are Alpine tundra, glaciers and ice fields.[29]
Regions of the park closest to the Gulf of Alaska have a relatively mild climate with significant rainfall and comparatively low snowfall. Lower Glacier Bay is a transitional zone, and upper Glacier Bay is cold and snowy. Access to the land can be difficult, since the glacial fjords have steep walls that rise directly from the water. Where there are shoreline flats, they can be densely vegetated with alder and devils club, making hiking difficult.
Fauna
Wildlife in Glacier Bay includes both
-
Glacier BayGeologic column
-
Map of maximum glacial extent
-
The Nunatak molybdenite location
-
Brady Nunatak Nickel-Copper geologic map
-
Fairweather Fault Geologic map
-
Fairweather Fault Geologic map legend
Activities
About 80% of visitors to Glacier Bay arrive on cruise ships. The National Park Service operates cooperative programs where rangers provide interpretive services aboard the ships and on the smaller boats that offer excursion trips to more distant park features.
Sport hunting and trapping are also allowed in the preserve. To hunt and trap, you must have all required licenses and permits and follow all other state regulations. The National Park Service and the State of Alaska cooperatively manage the wildlife resources of the preserve. Campers and hunters should be aware that brown bears are common in the preserve and be prepared to avoid conflicts with them. Typically hunted species in the preserve include black bears, mountain goats,
Sport fishing is another activity popular in the park. Halibut are frequently esteemed by deep-sea fishers and in rivers and lakes Dolly Varden and rainbow trout provide sport. An Alaskan sportfishing license is required for all nonresidents 16 and older, and residents 16–59, to fish in Alaska's fresh and salt waters.[34]
Human history
Prehistory and exploration
The earliest traces of human occupation at Glacier Bay date to about 10,000 years before the present, with archaeological sites just outside the park dating to that time.
Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was the first European to explore the Alaskan coast on foot in the region of Glacier Bay in 1786, arriving in Lituya Bay and making contact with the Tlingit. Russian fur traders also probably visited the region in the mid-18th century. The region was later visited by George Vancouver in Discovery in 1794, during the Vancouver Expedition.[36] The explorers are believed to have seen the Glacier Bay ice at its peak, which coincided with their visits.[37] Russians were chiefly concerned with the area until the 1880s, when Americans were drawn to Alaska and the Klondike by the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s.[36]
John Muir visited Glacier Bay in 1879, just prior to the 1880 establishment of Yosemite National Park, Muir's first great cause. Muir came to Alaska to learn about glaciers as a means of understanding the formation of the glaciated landscape of the Yosemite Valley. Muir sent dispatches back to San Francisco to be published in the San Francisco Bulletin in both 1879 and 1880, eventually collecting these stories, accounts of his third and fourth trips in 1890 and 1899, and later lectures and articles into the 1915 book Travels in Alaska, promoting Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage. Muir's writings led to the naming of Muir Glacier, then nearly 300 feet (91 m) tall at tidewater and the most active glacier in the bay, after Muir.[38]
The Pacific Coast Steamship Company ran tours up the Inside Passage from
Muir's writings attracted the attention of William Skinner Cooper, an ecologist at the University of Minnesota, who saw the bay's retreating glaciers as an opportunity to study plant succession on the recently exposed land. He visited Glacier Bay in 1916, surveying the glaciers and inlets and establishing nine test plots to be monitored in future visits. Cooper returned to Glacier Bay in 1922, wrote a paper for the Ecological Society of America in which he proposed that Glacier Bay be protected as a national monument.[38][40]
The Ecological Society established a committee to promote the designation of Glacier Bay as a national monument at the urging of Cooper, forwarding copies of their resolutions to President Calvin Coolidge, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian and the governor of Alaska. The idea was opposed by the U.S. Geological Survey, which reported that the area had potential for mineral extraction. The Interior Department decided to send an agent to survey the area, assigning George Alexander Parks of the United States General Land Office, and a future governor of Alaska, to examine the area and to canvass local residents. Parks' 1924 report recommended a very limited boundary designed to include glaciers and little else. In response Cooper and the Ecological Society undertook a letter-writing campaign that supported the park Service and caused Coolidge to add some portions of mature forest to the park's boundaries. Coolidge's proclamation under the Antiquities Act of Glacier Bay National Monument came on February 26, 1925.[41]
National monument
Alaska game managers came under heavy criticism in the 1920s for a perceived lack of interest in protecting
During World War II the U.S. Army appropriated an area around
No Park Service personnel were assigned to the monument until 1949, when a seasonal ranger was stationed at Bartlett Cove. The monument was administered locally from 1953 onwards. Starting in 1957 the facilities at Bartlett Cove were expanded as part of the Park Service's Mission 66 program with employee housing and maintenance facilities. An administrative site was also developed outside the monument boundaries at the Forest Service ranger station at Indian Point on Auke Bay, closer to Juneau.[44] The Glacier Bay Lodge was built to accommodate guests in 1966. Beginning in 1969 cruise ships became regular visitors to the monument.[31]
In 1958 survey crews found a rich deposit of copper and nickel ore under the Brady Icefield. Investigators looked at a nunatak outcrop in the icefield and found highly mineralized rock. Newmont Exploration Ltd. proposed the construction of a 3-mile (4.8 km) adit to an underground mine under the icefield, with a mill at the portal opening and a road to piers at Dixon Bay. This proposal took advantage of 1936 legislation that permitted mineral exploitation in the monument, which had been confined to small prospectors until this time. In response to this and other proposals, Montana senator Lee Metcalf proposed the Mining in the Parks Act to resolve and eventually prohibit mining at Glacier Bay and five other parks and monuments. However, the final bill contained a number of significant exemptions, and the Newmont claim has never been resolved, although no mining activity has been proposed since the 1970s.[45][46][47]
National park and preserve
As a result of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), 80,000,000 acres (32,000,000 ha) of Alaskan public lands were eligible for inclusion in the national park system. Studies for expansion of Glacier Bay focused on the area around the Alsek River. Facing an approaching deadline imposed by ANCSA to resolve land allotment and seeing delays in the proposed Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) in Congress that was intended to make a final settlement, President Jimmy Carter used his authority under the Antiquities Act to proclaim fifteen National Park Service units in Alaska on December 1, 1978. The proclamation also expanded Glacier Bay National Monument to include the Alsek lands. The final ANILCA legislation, signed into law by Carter on December 2, 1980, established Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve from the national monument. The Alsek addition comprised the bulk of the preserve lands. The chief distinction between park and preserve lands is that sport hunting by non-residents is permitted in accordance with Alaskan game regulations in the preserve, but prohibited in the park.[48]
World Heritage Site
The
See also
References
- ^ "Protected Planet | Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
- ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved 2012-03-06. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
- ^ "NPS Annual Recreation Visits Report". National Park Service. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
- ^ Lee, Robert F. "The Story of the Antiquities Act". National Park Service Archaeology Program. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012. Chapter 8
- ^ "Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act". Fish and Wildlife Service. Archived from the original on 23 May 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012. Title 2, section 202(1).
- ^ a b c d e Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve (April 2010). "Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve Foundation Statement" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ National Park Service Office of Public Affairs and Harpers Ferry Center (July 2009). "The National Parks: Index 2009–2011". Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ a b c Rossman, Darwin (1963). Geology of the Eastern Part of the Mount Fairweather Quadrangle, Glacier Bay, Alaska, USGS Bulletin 1121-K. Washington: US Government Printing Office. pp. K1, K24–K25, K28, K32–K33.
- ^ Sanford, R.S.; Apell, G.A.; Rutledge, F.A. (March 1949). Investigation of Muir Inlet or Nunatak Molybdenum Deposits, Glacier Bay, Southeastern Alaska, R.I. 4421. US Dept. of the Interior Bureau of Mines. pp. 1–6.
- ^ Twenhofel, W.S. (1946). Molybdenite Deposits of the Nunatak Area, Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay, in Molybdenite Investigations in Southeastern Alaska, USGS Bulletin 947-B. Washington: US Government Printing Office. pp. 9–18.
- ^ a b MacKevett, E.M.; Brew, D.A.; Hawley, C.C.; Huff, L.C.; Smith, J.G. (1971). Mineral Resources of Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska, USGS Professional Paper 632. Washington: US Government Printing Office. pp. 56–68.
- ^ Rossman, Darwin (1959). Geology and Ore Deposits in the Reid Inlet Area, Glacier Bay, Alaska, USGS Bulletin 1058-B. Washington: US Government Printing Office. pp. 38–39.
- ^ "Landslides and Giant Waves". Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "Natural Features & Ecosystems". Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "Map of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve" (Document). National Park Service.
- ^ "Route Guide - Alaska Marine Highway System". Alaska Marine Highway System. Alaska Department of Transportation. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
- ^ "National Park Service Visitor Use Statistics". NPS Stats. National Park Service. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
- ^ a b c National Park Service (2010). "Glacier Bay Park & Preserve Factsheet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2016-01-11.
- ^ a b National Park Service. "Glacier Bay Rafting".
- ^ "USDA Interactive Plant Hardiness Map". United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-05.
- ^ "NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
- ^ "Glacier Bay Fact Sheet" (PDF). Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "Glaciers / Glacial Features". U.S. National Park Service. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "Glaciers with water termini (image)". Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. 2010. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ Lawson, Daniel E. (Feb 2004). "An Overview of Selected Glaciers in Glacier Bay" (PDF). Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ Vancouver, George, and John Vancouver (1801). A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World, Vols. I-VI. London: J. Stockdale.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Muir, John. "Travels in Alaska". Sierra Club. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "Natural History of Glacier Bay". Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "Things to Do". Glacier Bay National Park. National Park Service. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ a b Catton, Ch. 8
- ^ "HowStuffWorks "Subsistence Hunting Locations". HowStuffWorks.
- ^ "Hunting in Glacier Bay National Preserve – Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve". National Park Service. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ "Sport Fishing – Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve". National Park Service. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
- ^ "Early Peoples". Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. Jan 2017. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ a b "A timeline of human history" (PDF). Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ Catton, Ch.1
- ^ a b c Catton, Ch. 2
- ^ a b "Following the quake of 1899". Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve. U.S. National Park Service. April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "The scientists". Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. National Park Service. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ Catton, Ch. 3
- ^ Catton, Ch. 4
- ^ Catton, Ch. 5
- ^ a b Catton, Ch. 7
- ^ Catton, Ch. 9
- ^ "Monument formation". Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. National Park Service. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
- ^ [1] USGS report on the Brady Glacier nickel-copper deposit
- ^ Catton, Ch. 11
- ^ UNESCO decision
Bibliography
- Catton, Theodore (1995) Land Reborn: A History of Administration and Visitor Use in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, National Park Service
External links
- Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve – National Park Service site
- Alaska – National Park Service Alaska Regional Office
- World Heritage Site – UNESCO