Tracy Arm: A Magical Ice Kingdom
South of Juneau in Southeast Alaska, an astounding fiord called Tracy Arm cleaves through great rock escarpments to huge tidewater glaciers at its head. Rising at 5 a.m., we aboard the Delphinus motor northeast past miles of cliffs rising nearly perpendicularly 2,000 and 3,000 feet from salt water. In this photo a sailboat is barely visible at the conjunction of water and rock.
All around us, water thundered into the fiord. Waterfalls seemed to be everywhere. Here's a telephoto image of a backlit waterfall early in the morning. The profound depth of waters just offshore enabled us to get within a few feet of several waterfalls.
Thundering icefalls greet the visitor to Sawyer Glacier, which pushes to the sea from a massive icefield that straddles the Alaska/Canada border. With few exceptions, Alaska glaciers are in retreat due to global warming.
Another hunk of ice crashes into the ocean. Each icefall creates waves that rock our tiny vessel; hundreds of harbor seals on the ice close by the glacier weather the icefalls with aplomb. Here the seals find abundant food and give birth to their young.
From an artist/photographer's standpoint, the deep blue ice caves of Sawyer Glacier are fascinating. Periodically chucks of ice drop into the caves, reminding us that these caves are unsafe up close.
Another view of the ice caves at the terminus of Sawyer Glacier. The deep blue is a real color, caused when ice is compressed to a point where air bubbles are minimized; the ice reflects back the deep blue of sky or cloud cover.
Returning down Tracy Arm from Sawyer Glacier, we discover an iceberg filled with magical blue hues and textures. The Delphinus circles the berg several times while several of us shoot roll after roll of film.
Another view of the same iceberg.
