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Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

 
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Natural area, southeastern Alaska, U.S. Located on the Gulf of Alaska, it was proclaimed a national monument in 1925, established as a national park and preserve in 1980, and designated a World Heritage site in 1992. It covers 5,040 sq mi (13,053 sq km). It includes Glacier Bay, much of Mount Fairweather, and the U.S. portion of the Alsek River. Among its great tidewater glaciers is Muir Glacier, which rises 265 ft (81 m) above the water and is nearly 2 mi (3 km) wide. The park also includes a dramatic range of plant species and such wildlife as brown and black bears, mountain goats, whales, seals, and eagles.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
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Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, SE Alaska, near Juneau. The park (3,224,840 acres/1,305,603 hectares) and the preserve (58,406 acres/23,646 hectares) were established in 1925 as a national monument and in 1980 designated a national park and preserve. Glaciers descending from the towering snow-covered mountains of the Fairweather Range into the bay create one of the world's most spectacular displays of ice. Among the bay's most famous glaciers is Muir Glacier, c.2 mi (3.2 km) wide and rising c.265 ft (80 m) above the water. Wildlife includes bears, deer, mountain goats, porpoises, whales, and waterfowl. See National Parks and Monuments (table).


Wikipedia: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
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Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
IUCN Category II (National Park)

Glacier Bay
Location Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska Alaska,  United States
Nearest city Juneau
Coordinates 58°30′0″N 137°00′0″W / 58.5°N 137°W / 58.5; -137Coordinates: 58°30′0″N 137°00′0″W / 58.5°N 137°W / 58.5; -137
Area 3,283,246 acres (13,287 km²)
Established December 2, 1980
Visitors 413,382 (in 2006)
Governing body National Park Service

The area around Glacier Bay in southeastern Alaska was first proclaimed a U.S. National Monument on February 25, 1925. It was changed to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve on Dec. 2, 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is a United States National Park in the southeastern part of Alaska west of Juneau. The park area was included in an International Biosphere Reserve in 1986 and is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The park covers 5,130 mi² (13,287 km²). Most of the park is a designated wilderness area which covers 4,164 mi² (10,784 km²) of the park.

Visualization of Glacier Bay, based on Landsat imagery and USGS elevation data

No roads lead to the park and it is most easily reached by air travel. During some summers there are ferries to the small community of Gustavus or directly to the marina at Bartlett Cove. Despite the lack of roads, there are over 300,000 visitors per year, most on cruise ships.[citation needed]

Glaciers descending from high snow capped mountains into the bay create spectacular displays of ice and iceberg formation. In the last century the bay’s most famous glacier was probably the Muir Glacier, at one time nearly 3 km (2 miles) wide and about 80 m (265 feet) tall. The Muir Glacier has receded and since the 1990s is no longer tidewater. Most visitors today see the Margerie and Lamplugh Glaciers. All of Glacier Bay was glacier-bound as recently as 1750.

The explorer Captain George Vancouver found Icy Strait, at the south end of Glacier Bay, choked with ice in 1794. Glacier Bay itself was almost entirely iced over. In 1879 naturalist John Muir found that the ice had retreated almost all the way up the bay, a distance of around forty-eight miles. By 1916 the Grand Pacific Glacier was at the head of Tarr Inlet about 100 km (65 miles) from Glacier Bay's mouth. This is the fastest documented glacier retreat ever.[citation needed] Scientists are hoping to learn how glacial activity relates to climate changes from the retreat.

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve includes nine tidewater glaciers. Four of these glaciers actively calve icebergs into the bay.

Wildlife in the area includes bears, deer, mountain goats, whales, and waterfowl.

World Heritage Site

The Kluane-Wrangell-St. Elias-Glacier Bay-Tatshenshini-Alsek transborder park system comprising Kluane, Wrangell-St Elias, Glacier Bay and Tatshenshini-Alsek parks, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for the spectacular glacier and icefield landscapes as well as for the importance of grizzly bears, caribou and Dall sheep habitat.

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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve" Read more