|
Getting to Whittier meant timing our
arrival for a 15-minute window (each hour) of time to get through a 2.5 mile,
one-lane tunnel that is shared with the railroad. Whittier is a
small, picturesque town and is the western gateway to Prince William Sound.
Prince William Sound is surrounded by the Chugach National Forest (the second
largest in the U.S.) and by three of North America's major ice fields. It
is made up of many deep fjords and dotted with islands. Although it was
overcast and damp, we took a 4.5-hour, 135-mile cruise on a catamaran to see 26
glaciers. We saw massive tidal glaciers that, pressured by their own
weight, move toward the the water, ending at the ocean's edge, where they break
off in giant slabs of ice that crash into the sea. We actually saw several
and captured part of it in a photo. There were a number of Piedmont
glaciers that are formed when glacial ice forms a fan-shaped mass at the base of
a mountain. We also got a closer look at alpine glaciers, formations that
start high on the slopes of mountains and plateaus and literally hand from the
sides of mountains.
Although we had hoped to see whales
on the cruise, we did see lots of sea otters and seals and hundreds of Black
Legged Kittiwakes that nest in the surrounding sea cliffs. We took a short
drive to nearby Hope, another small, picturesque village and to the Beich, Boggs
Visitor Center overlooking the Portage Glacier where we learned a lot about
glaciers.
Glaciers appear blue to the eye
(and the camera) because the ice is so dense and compact. There are no
air bubbles to scatter the light, creating the white appearance. When
sunlight strikes glacier ice, the lower energy colors are absorbed by the ice
and only the blue color, which has the most energy, is reflected back to the
eye. The unique milky blue color of glacial waters is due to the silt or
rock flour that stays suspended in the water. As glaciers move over the
landscape, the rocks they pick up along the way grind against the
mountainsides, creating the fine, dust-like particles.
|
Click on each thumbnail to
see larger picture. |
 |
 |
