Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#669966" TEXT="#080000" background="06d01573.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Kodiak Alaska Vacation Guide</B></FONT>     |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kodiak Alaska Vacation Guide">home</A>                                            <B>back to</B>  <A HREF="alaska_national_parks.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Alaska National Parks">Alaska National Parks</A></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="kodiak_travel_guide.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kodiak Vacation Guide">Kodiak Vacation Guide</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="editorial.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Editorial">Editorial</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="advertising.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Advertising">Advertising</A><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Symbol" >   ·   </FONT><A HREF="questions.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Questions">Questions</A></div> <div> <I><B>Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve</B></I></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="06cd2013.jpg"> <div> <A HREF="katmai_national_park_preserve.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Katmai National Park Preserve">Katmai National Park Preserve</A></div> <div> <A HREF="kenai_fjords_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kenai Fjords National Park">Kenai Fjords National Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="arctic_wildlife_refuge.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Arctic National Wildlife Refuge">Arctic National Wildlife Refuge</A></div> <div> <A HREF="sitka_national_historic_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sitka National Historic Park">Sitka National Historic Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="wrangell_st_elias_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Pre">Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve</A></div> <div> <B>Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve</B></div> <div> <A HREF="denali_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Denali National Park">Denali National Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="bering_land_bridge_national.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bering Land Bridge National Park">Bering Land Bridge National Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="klondike_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Klondike Gold Rush National Historical P">Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="lake_clark_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Lake Clark National Park">Lake Clark National Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="yukon_charley_rivers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="YukonCharley Rivers National Preserve">Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve</A></div> <div> <A HREF="kobuk_valley_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kobuk Valley National Park">Kobuk Valley National Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="chugach_national_forest.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Chugach National Forest">Chugach National Forest</A></div> <div> <A HREF="kluane_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kluane National Park">Kluane National Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="gates_of_the_arctic.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gates of the Arctic">Gates of the Arctic</A></div> <div> <A HREF="noatak_national_park.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Noatak National Park">Noatak National Park</A></div> <div> <A HREF="global_warming.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Global Warming">Global Warming</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> <div> Enter Glacier Bay and you cruise along shorelines completely covered by ice just 200 years ago.</div> <bR> <div> Explorer Capt. George Vancouver found Icy Strait choked with ice in 1794, and Glacier Bay was a barely indented glacier.</div> <bR> <div> That glacier was more than 4,000 feet thick, up to 20 miles or more wide, and extended more than 100 miles to the St. Elias Range.</div> <bR> <div> But by 1879 naturalist John Muir found that the ice had retreated 48 miles up the bay. By 1916 the Grand Pacific Glacier headed Tarr Inlet 65 miles from Glacier Bay's mouth.</div> <bR> <div> Such rapid retreat is known nowhere else.</div> <div> Scientists have documented it, hoping to learn how glacial activity relates to climate changes.</div> <bR> <div> The park has snow-capped mountain ranges rising to over 15,000 feet, coastal beaches with protected coves, deep fjords, tidewater glaciers, coastal and estuarine waters, and freshwater lakes.</div> <div> These diverse land and seascapes host a mosaic of plant communities ranging from pioneer species in areas recently exposed by receding glaciers, to climax communities in older coastal and alpine ecosystems.</div> <bR> <div> These habitats support a variety of life including seabirds, marine and terrestrial mammals that provide ideal conditions for wildlife viewing and for research as we endeavor to learn more about the world around us.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Special Park features:</B></div> <div> It is 65 miles from the forests of Bartlett Cove to the tidewater glaciers. A boat trip is undertaken by most visitors and is a highlight of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve </div> <div> <B>Where to contact for information:</B></div> <div> Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, PO Box 140, Gustavus, Alaska 99826-140; Headquarters: 907-697-2230, fax: 907-697-2654</div> <div> <A HREF="http://www.nps.gov/glba" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.nps.gov/glba">www.nps.gov/glba</A></div> </td> </tr></table></body>