Grand Pacific Glacier buried Glacier Bay 250 years ago. Today we cruised 60 miles north to see the dark, rocky face of the glacier, and the beautiful white face of Margerie Glacier next to it. The recently uncovered shores and waters have transformed into a rich habitat for mountain goats, brown bears, Steller sea lions, sea otters and humpback whales, all of which we observed during the day.
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 19 Jun 2017
Glacier Bay National Park, 6/19/2017, National Geographic Sea Bird
- Aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird
- Alaska
Berit Solstad, Naturalist
Berit grew up on the rocky shores of Marblehead, Massachusetts. In the tidal cove behind her family’s home she found horseshoe crabs, eels, and feeding frenzies of fishes and birds. Low tides exposed clam flats, crabs, mussels, and snails. She explor...
Read MoreShare Report
Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness
VIEW ITINERARYRelated Reports
9/6/2024
Read
National Geographic Quest
Glacier Bay National Park
We awoke to a wall of ice towering outside of the ship. Sometime in the night we anchored alongside the monumental Johns Hopkins Glacier. Along the base of the glacier, hundreds of harbor seals lounged on the rafts of ice, and stunning mountain views accompanied the impressive natural feature for which the park was named. After eating breakfast with a glacial blue backdrop, we pulled anchor and began our exploration of the park in earnest. We visited several more glaciers, including prime examples of tidewater, hanging, and beached varieties; we also observed large numbers of sea otters and surf scoters. After lunch we turned our focus to wildlife and were rewarded with views of mountain goats on Gloomy Knob, as well as a brown bear excavating a comfortable resting spot on the beach. Later we were treated to a surprise concert by one of our guests (award winning musician Jim Peterick). We wrapped up the day with a visit to South Marble Island where dozens of tufted puffins and large rafts of Steller sea lions gave excellent views.
9/5/2024
Read
National Geographic Quest
Inian Islands and Salt Chuck Bay
Today we began our adventures by dropping anchor at one of our favorite locations in Southeast Alaska, the Inian Islands! We disembarked National Geographic Quest to hop into our Zodiacs to explore this wild archipelago. Later in the day we repositioned to an anchorage in Port Althorp, known as Salt Chuck Bay. We got the chance to explore by kayaking as well as hiking through the meadow in the bay and the lush rainforest. It was a fantastic day in Southeast Alaska!