Glacier Bay National Park

Recorded June 21, 2007. Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is located in the southern 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 square miles. Most of the park is a designated wilderness area which covers 4,164 square miles of the park. 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. Glaciers descending from high snow capped mountains into the bay create spectacular displays of ice and iceberg formation. In the last century the bays most famous glacier was probably the Muir Glacier, at one time nearly 2 miles wide and about 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. This video covers my visit to the national park on the Sapphire Princess. Most of the video is of the Lamplugh Glacier, the John Hopkins Inlet and Margerie Glacier. From: http://timvp.com