Glacier Bay
United States · Alaska (USA)A living laboratory of glacial retreat: the bay was under solid ice barely 250 years ago
Area
13,044 km²
Declared in
1980
Region
Alaska (USA)
Climate
Tropical, Árido / desértico, Templado, Mediterráneo, Polar / frío
Best time
It depends on the region
Highlight
A living laboratory of glacial retreat: the bay was under solid ice barely 250 years ago
When Captain George Vancouver sailed through the area in 1794, the whole of what is now the bay was a single solid glacier over 30 km wide and several hundred metres thick. By 1879, when the naturalist John Muir visited, the ice had already pulled back more than 77 km, one of the fastest glacial retreats on record and now studied as a global scientific reference for ecological succession after ice disappears. Declared a national monument in 1925 and a national park in 1980, it is reachable almost solely by sea, and is one of the most sought-after calls on Alaskan cruises.
Location
See on the interactive map59 species documented in Glacier Bay
At conservation risk:Nutria marina,Orca,Ballena franca del Pacífico Norte,Cachalote,Estrella de mar girasol,Gaviota tridáctila,Marrajo dientuso,Mérgulo jaspeado,Mielga,Oso marino septentrional,Pez luna,Rorcual borealand 2 more
Least ConcernBallena jorobada
Megaptera novaeangliae
Least ConcernOso pardo
Ursus arctos
Least ConcernÁguila calva
Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Least ConcernArao común
Uria aalge
Least ConcernFoca común
Phoca vitulina
Near ThreatenedLeón marino de Steller
Eumetopias jubatus
Least ConcernLobo gris
Canis lupus
Marsopa de Dall
Phocoenoides dalli
EndangeredNutria marina
Enhydra lutris
EndangeredOrca
Orcinus orca
Least ConcernOso negro americano
Ursus americanus
Anfípodo barril de mar
Phronima sedentaria
Flora and ecosystems
Ecosystems found in United States, where Glacier Bay lies.
Experiences in this park
Wildlife you can see now
What is worth watching this month in United States?
Least ConcernBrown Bear
Ursus arctos
Ahora es buena época: Osos pardos pescando salmón en Brooks Falls (Junio a septiembre (pico en julio))
Least ConcernSockeye Salmon
Oncorhynchus nerka
Ahora es buena época: Osos pardos pescando salmón en Brooks Falls (Junio a septiembre (pico en julio))
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