Glacier Bay National Park is a 3.3 million acre US National Park that is located in southeast
Alaska, a bit west of Juneau.
Glacier Bay was formed by a large glacier that retreated 65 miles over the last 250
years -- creating a spectacular collection of inlets and breathtaking glaciers -- and
it can only be accessed by plane or boat.
According to the National Park Service, Glacier Bay National Park -- which should not be confused
with Glacier National Park in northwest Montana -- is home to 1,045 glaciers.
The longest glacier is Grand Pacific Glacier and the fastest moving glacier is Johns Hopkins
Glacier.
Both glaciers were part of our visit to Glacier Bay National Park while sailing the Holland
America Nieuw Amsterdam with our little JellyBean during our Alaskan cruise in late May of 2019.
Our visit to Glacier Bay National Park started at 6:30 am when Park Rangers boarded our cruise
ship while still at sea.
About an hour later, the rangers were available for questions and displays were setup that
included a “Typical Cruise Ship Route” with a detailed schedule of the day’s visit,
descriptions of wildlife that are common to the area, including a few sample furs,
the Glacier Bay National Park passport stamp,
and a large, three-dimensional map of the park.
By 8:00 am, our ship had travelled well into Glacier Bay and passengers were able to access
the bow.
The park rangers started providing commentary that could be heard in all of the ship’s
public areas and on the Forward Camera TV channel.
Reid Glacier was the first glacier we saw as the ship sailed toward Johns Hopkins Inlet.
The glacier is approximately nine and a half miles long, moves roughly south to north at
about one to three feet per day, and is about three-quarters of a mile wide and 130 feet
high at the face.
Reid Glacier is named for Harry Fielding Reid, an American geophysicist who studied the glaciers
of Glacier Bay in the 1890s.
Just past Reid Glacier -- at the entrance of Johns Hopkins Inlet -- is Lamplugh Glacier,
which is approximately 16 miles long and moves roughly south to north at about two to three
feet per day.
The glacier is about three-quarters of a mile wide and 160 feet high at the face and it
shares an icefield with Reid Glacier.
Lamplugh Glacier is named for George William Lamplugh, a noted British geologist who visited
Glacier Bay in 1884.
As our ship passed by, most passengers crowded the side railing to get a view of Lamplugh
Glacier, which left nearby Topeka Glacier in clear view straight ahead.
Topeka Glacier is located entirely on land and is approximately five miles long and a
quarter of a mile wide.
During our visit, we spotted a few bald eagles -- and a few harbor seals -- floating on the
ice in front of Topeka Glacier.
The Tarr Inlet Suture Zone was clearly visible as our ship rounded Jaw Point and sailed into
Johns Hopkins Inlet.
The formation consists of darker-colored metamorphic rock from the Chugach terrane and lighter-colored
granite from the Alexander terrane.
According to the National Park Service, the formation is considered one of the best views
of an arc-forearc boundary on the planet.
Johns Hopkins Glacier is located at the end of Johns Hopkins Inlet and is one of the few
advancing tidewater glaciers in the world.
The glacier is approximately 12 and a half miles long and moves roughly west to east
at a relatively swift 10 to 15 feet per day.
The face of the glacier is about one mile wide and 250 feet high.
Johns Hopkins Glacier was named after Johns Hopkins University by Harry Fielding Reid
in 1893 about 17 years after the school opened.
During our visit to Johns Hopkins Glacier, we spotted an adult harbor seal and pup swimming
in the ice-filled water near our ship.
About an hour after visiting Johns Hopkins Glacier, our ship had sailed into Tarr Inlet
to Margerie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier.
As we approached the glaciers, our ship served pea soup to help keep passengers warm.
When we arrived at the glaciers, the Ruby Princess was wrapping up its visit.
Only two ships are permitted to visit the park each day and seeing the other ship near
the glaciers helped show how big the glaciers are.
Margerie Glacier -- which is named after a French geographer -- is one of the highlights
of any cruise to Glacier Bay National Park.
The glacier is roughly the same size at the face as Johns Hopkins Glacier -- about one
mile wide and 250 feet high -- but Margerie Glacier is much longer at approximately 21
miles long and it moves roughly southwest to northeast at about six to eight feet per day.
Cruise ships can get relatively close to the face of the glacier, which caused many passengers
to gather at the bow for photo and viewing opportunities during our cruise.
While Margerie Glacier gets most of the attention from passengers waiting to see a calving event
-- which did not happen during our visit -- the adjacent Grand Pacific Glacier is still an
impressive sight.
The glacier is approximately 34 miles long and moves roughly north to south at about
one to four feet per day.
The face of the glacier is about two miles wide and 150 feet high.
The border of the United States and Canada cuts across Grand Pacific Glacier just north
of its face.
Famed naturalist John Muir named Grand Pacific Glacier in 1879 when the glacier’s terminus
was 15 miles further south, near the entrance of Tarr Inlet.
Most cruise ships spend about an hour at Margerie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier with one
side of the ship facing Margerie Glacier for the first half hour and the other side facing
the glacier for the second half hour.
During our visit to Margerie Glacier and Grand Pacific Glacier, we spotted a few harbor seals
on the ice in front of the glaciers.
We also spotted a flying bald eagle.
In addition to the stunning glaciers you’ll see in Glacier Bay National Park, you’ll
also see many spectacular mountainscapes as your ship sails through the park.
Throughout the day, our ship’s youth programs provided several Glacier Bay-related activities,
including “Meet the Glacier Bay Park Rangers,” and more.
Kids even had an opportunity to earn a Junior Ranger patch!
As our day in Glacier Bay National Park came to a close and our ship was leaving Glacier
Bay, the Park Rangers disembarked our ship and headed back to the nearby park headquarters.
About an hour after the Park Rangers departed, we got our final glimpse of a park glacier
when we saw Brady Glacier in the distance.
The glacier is part of the Brady Icefield, which it shares with Reid Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier.