national park Glacier Bay with an area of ​​13,287 sq. km is located on the southeast coast of Alaska. The nature of the coast of Glacier Bay is - glaciers, a mountain range with snowy peaks, covered with forests, deep fjords, rivers and lakes. The national park is under the protection of UNESCO.

A hundred years ago, the most famous glacier here was the Muir Glacier, 3 km wide and 80 m high. But the climate is constantly changing and in 1990 the glacier receded. Today, tourists have the opportunity to observe the Margerie and Lamplugh glaciers. The photo shows a waterfall from under the Lamplugh Glacier.

There are very few roads in the park, so cruises and plane and helicopter tours are the best way to explore it.

This is what Glacier Bay National Park looks like from space:

Birth of icebergs from the Margerie Glacier.

Ice cave in an iceberg. The blue color of the iceberg indicates that it is very dense and formed relatively recently.

13 km Lamplugh Glacier. Glaciers are always trying to find a balance where the amount of ice produced equals the amount of ice lost by the glacier. In the case of a significant increase in nutrition and its excess over melting, the edge of the glacier moves forward - the glacier advances, with the reverse ratio, the glacier retreats.

Margaery Glacier and Mount Fairweather. This mountain is the most high peak British Columbia and the ninth highest peak in Alaska.

Glaciers born on the slopes of Mount Fairweather flow west into the Gulf of Alaska. Altitude peaks is 4663 meters above sea level:

Aerial view of Glacier Bay National Park.

Marble islands and sea lions.

Landscapes of Glacier Bay National Park.

Bear at the waterfall.

19 km Johns Hopkins Glacier. The general condition for the formation of glaciers is a combination of low air temperatures with a large amount of solid precipitation.

Killer whale from the dolphin family. Males reach a length of 9-10 m with a weight of up to 7.5 tons. The killer whale was given the English name killer whale because of its reputation as a dangerous predator.

Bird's-eye.

Baribal, or black bear.

Glacier Bay National Park is not only glaciers, but also beautiful, mysterious forests.

Modern glaciers cover an area of ​​over 16 million square kilometers, or about 11% of the land. They contain more than 25 million cubic meters. km of ice - almost two thirds of the volume fresh water on the planet.

The transformation of snow into ice can take place both at negative temperatures and at melting temperatures.

Beautiful glacier in Halo Bay.

Another photo of Mount Fairweather.

The climate of Glacier Bay National Park is maritime, influenced by ocean currents. On the coast, winters are quite mild (from -2 to +5 C), and summers are cool (+10-15 C).

The tail of a humpback whale. Humpback whales spend their summers in Glacier Bay National Park before migrating to Hawaii for the winter.

Here is the lowest point of the Glacier Bay National Park - 430 meters below sea level.

The Hubbard Valley Tree Glacier, the largest on the coast of Alaska. It originates on Mount Logan. The ice at the foot of the Hubbard Glacier is about 400 years old, which is how long it takes the ice to descend from Mount Logan to the ocean. The upper 67 km are in Canada, the lower 48 km are in the United States.

Glacier Bay National Park(Glacier Bay) with an area of ​​13.287 sq. km. is located on the southeast coast of Alaska, most of which is protected areas. The nature of the coast of Glacier Bay is glaciers that formed many centuries ago, a mountain range with snowy peaks, covered with forests, deep fjords, rivers and hundreds of large and small lakes, waterfalls. The national park is part world heritage UNESCO.

Glaciers descending from snowy mountains form icebergs, they are always trying to find a balance where the amount of ice formed equals the amount of ice lost by the glacier. Currently, there are about 30 glaciers in the park, while in the 19th century there were five times more of them. Under the influence of the most massive of them, landscapes of the area were formed and changed from year to year. According to scientists, the melting of glaciers is a natural and irreversible process, it is impossible to stop it.

One hundred years ago, the most famous glacier here was the glacier Muir- 3 km wide and 80 m high. But the climate is constantly changing and in 1990 the glacier receded. Today, tourists have the opportunity to observe glaciers Margerie and 13 km glacier Lamplugh.

Mount Fairweather is the highest peak in British Columbia and the ninth highest peak in Alaska. Glaciers born on the slopes of Mount Fairweather flow west into the Gulf of Alaska. The absolute height of the peak is 4663 meters above sea level:

There are very few roads in the park, so cruises and plane and helicopter tours are the best way to explore it.

Among the types of recreation in the park are offered: fishing, hiking, rock climbing, rafting, sea trips on catamarans and boats.

The park is inhabited by a large number of animals and birds. Bears and deer are found in the forests and on the coast, whales can be seen near the coast. Also on the coast lives a population of sea lions.
And people first settled in these places about 10,000 years ago, they were Indian tribes. The first Europeans arrived here at the beginning of the 19th century as part of the Lewis and Clark expedition, they discovered the Indians here, and in 1910 the region received the status of a national park.

Tourists should be careful and use the services of guides to visit and inspect the park.

The park is open all year round, 24 hours a day, but in winter the park's capacity is minimal. Information Center open from May to early September from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm.

Climate

Alaska is characterized by a variety of climatic zones depending on the region. The climate of Glacier Bay is maritime, influenced by ocean currents. On the coast, winters are quite mild (-2 +5 °C), and summers are cool (+10-15 °C). April, May and June are the driest months of the year. Falls in September and October the largest number precipitation. In the mountains, the temperature is much lower, in winter there is a lot of snow.
From the end of May until September, Glacier Park lasts an official tourist season, it is during these months that the bulk of tourists come here. In the remaining months, only limited service is possible.

How to get there

Airports Missoula (190 km) and Kalispell (40 km) receive flights from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and other US cities. You can get from them to the park without any problems, by shuttles or regular buses. From Canada (the city of Calgary) to the national park is only 4.5 hours away.

You can also get to the park from the town of Gustavus, which is located directly next to the park, which can only be reached by boat or by air taxi from Juneau.

Where to stay

There are hotels and lodges in the park. They are built in picturesque places, as a rule, on the banks of water bodies, and are part of tourist complexes, including cafes, restaurants, recreation areas, shops.
In the western part of the park is the Lake McDonald Lodge Hotel, which was opened in 1914. The name of the hotel was named after the largest lake in the park, on the shore of which it was built.
On the east shore of Lake Swiftcurrent is the Many Glacier Hotel, the largest hotel in the park.

14-01-2013, 23:30
In the northwest of North America, there is the Glacier Bay National Park, whose area is more than 13 thousand square kilometers. The nature of the southeast coast of Alaska is incredibly beautiful and majestic. Glaciers and mountain ranges with snow-capped peaks, deep fjords, dense forests, lakes and rivers reign here. The ecosystem of the national park is truly unique, which is why Glacier Bay is one of the protected sites of UNESCO.

A century ago, the most famous glacier in the park was the Muir Glacier, which reached a height of 80 meters and a width of 3 kilometers. Over time, the climate changed, and the glacier receded by the end of the 20th century. Today, tourists have the opportunity to enjoy views of the Lamplugh and Margerie glaciers. And it is worth noting that with your own eyes this is an incredibly amazing sight. The photo shows a waterfall that found a weak spot in the Lamplugh Glacier and broke through.

There are few hiking trails in the park, so excursions and cruises are best done from a bird's eye view, by helicopters or airplanes.

The view of the national park from space is an amazing beauty, isn't it...

This is how icebergs are “born” from the Margerie Glacier.

Inside the Iceberg Ice Cave, you feel like you are in a fairy tale ice kingdom. By the way, the blue color indicates that the ice is very dense and the iceberg was formed relatively recently.

The Lamplugh Glacier is 13 kilometers long. As they exist, glaciers are always in search of balance - the number lost ice should be commensurate with the amount of ice formed. That is why, in the case when the glacier grows intensively, and melts somewhat less, its edge gradually moves forward - thus, it advances. When the reverse ratio occurs, it means that the glacier is retreating.

Surrounded by the icy peaks of Margaery, Mount Fairweather rises, which is the ninth highest mountain in Alaska, and the highest peak in British Columbia.

The height of Mount Fairweather above sea level is 4663 meters. Glaciers formed on the slopes flow into the Gulf of Alaska when they melt.

Airplane view of Glacier Bay Park.

Sea lions live on the Marble Islands of Alaska.

Silent silence and incredible beauty of Glacier Bay National Park.

One of local residents park - a brown bear came to the waterfall.

The Johns Hopkins Glacier is 19 kilometers long. To form a glacier large sizes a mandatory combination of such factors as low air temperatures and a large amount of solid atmospheric precipitation is necessary.

Killer whales from the dolphin family live in the local waters. These mammals have a reputation for being dangerous predators - their name killer whale means "killer whale". Males weighing up to 7 tons in length reach 9-10 meters.

Bird's-eye view.

The black bear Baribal is resting in his lands.

Glacier Bay Natural Park can be proud not only of its glaciers, but also of beautiful mysterious forests.

An elk that shed its antlers in autumn in search of nutritious vegetation.

Today, the glaciers of the entire planet occupy over 16 million square kilometers of area, which is about 11% of the land and almost 2/3 of the volume of fresh water - more than 25 million cubic meters. kilometers of ice.

The transformation of snow into ice occurs both at a mark below zero and at a melting temperature.

Incredible combination of colors in Halo Bay.

Snowy peaks of Mount Fairweather.

The maritime climate of the national park is influenced by ocean currents. Winter on the coast is relatively mild - the average temperature varies from -2°C to +5°C, and in summer it is cool from +10°C to +15°C.

One of the ice caves in Glacier Bay.

Located on the southeastern shores of Alaska, west of the city of Juneau. The nature of the park is lakes, rivers, deep fjords, mountains and glaciers. Once it was an icy desert. Currently, mountain ranges rise above the azure waters in a protected area. About two dozen majestic glaciers slide down from mighty peaks. Melting, they give rise to a beautiful flowering world.

Glacier Bay National Park and its climate and general information

glacier bay is a place of ice and snow, which covers an area of ​​1,200,000 hectares. The park has a bay of the same name. This is a channel 100 kilometers long, which goes into the land. It can only be traveled by seaplane or ship. At the southern end of Glacier Bay National Park, the entrance to the bay is called ice strait.

If ice dominates the main expanses of the park, then Dantes Bey have not been frozen for 200 years. Abundant vegetation covers its banks. glacier bay is a system of deep-water fjords branching into two main branches and numerous small straits. Until recently, there were no huge canals in the protected area.

When the last ice age dominated here, the fjord valley was buried under a glacier, the thickness of which exceeded 1200 meters. There is no other place on earth where such a dramatic change has taken place. The answer to the question, under the influence of what forces such changes occurred, can be found in the northern part of the national park. For centuries, arctic snow was pressed here and gradually turned into glacier- ice rivers Ice masses in the western arm of the bay are called Rita Glacier.

Climate in the park nautical, it is influenced by ocean currents. Winter on the coast is quite mild, the average temperature is -2 +5 °C. In summer, the park is cool - from +10 to 15 °C. The driest months of the year are June, May and April. The maximum amount of precipitation falls in September and October. The temperature in the mountains is much lower, in winter there is a lot of snow.

Glacier Bay National Park and its wildlife

Animal world Glacier Bay National Park represented by bears, deer, which are found on the coast and in the forests. In the protected area, you can see whales with your own eyes.

IN national park there are not too many hiking trails, so it is best to explore it through helicopter and plane tours. Among the most popular types of recreation in glacier bay park include walks on the sea on boats and catamarans, hiking, rafting, rock climbing.