Days 54 - 55, July 24 - 25, Valdez, Alaska

The group departed the docks at 0900 for a six hour tour to the Meares Glacier, a tidal glacier that is actually advancing, rather than retreating.  On the way to and from the glacier, we saw sea otters, orcas, bald eagles, stellar sea lions, and humpback whales.  Wow!  All in one trip.   We took a short trip toward the Columbia Glacier, just to see the icebergs in the fjord, but the big attraction was the Meares.   Shortly after arriving, we witnessed a large calving of the glacier into the water.  Spectacular!  We could hear the glacier moaning, cracking, and popping, and watched the sea lions clinging to the icebergs.

 The following day we went to the local museum, and learned all about how the town was devastated after the 1964 earthquake.  The town had to be relocated aftwerwards, as it seemed that the founders of the town built it on the glacier moraine, a bed of sand and gravel.  During the earthquake, which lasted for five minutes, this sand and gravel turned to jello, called liquefaction, similar to what happened in parts of San Francisco during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.  So, the town was moved 3 miles southwest, to more solid ground.  This process took three years.

 The Alyeska Pipeline terminus is across the sound in Valdez, and is under heavy security, so no tours.  In 1989, the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, and caused the greatest oil spill in U.S. history, to that point in time.  The oil never reached Valdez, but the shoreline in and around Prince William Sound is still recovering, 30 years later.





Holding a piece of the glacier!  Ten times denser than the ice in our freezers.


Meares Glacier, advancing on the trees.

Meares Glacier

Meares Glacier is an advancing glacier, as evidenced by the glacier pushing down the trees on the sides.  If it were receding, there would be bare rock instead of trees.

Meares Glacier

Terminus of the pippeline

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