Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

                        Flightseeing over Glacier Bay NP 

I got to take a small, 7 seat plane over Glacier Bay NP which is in southeastern Alaska and only reachable by plane or by boat.  My excursion was from Haines, AK.  Glacier Bay NP has 11 glaciers which reach the sea and are called tidewater glaciers.  There are innumerable others which are not down to water.  According to researchers in the area, all of these glaciers are receding an average of 40 ft./year and one has imploded and collapsed upon itself and is no longer moving -something none of these scientists has seen in their lifetimes.

Our pilot has been in this business for 22 years and would cringe at being labeled a "liberal". But even he said Al Gore "got it right" all those years ago and we should have taken action immediately.

This photo is of one of the huge icefields which are made up of many glaciers.

Flying low over the surface of a massive glacier reveals how deep the crevices are.  Our pilot said that more than once he has been admonished by tourists that "the locals" should take more pride in their glaciers and get out and clean them up!!!

a tidewater glacier

 

Judy captures our return.