Le glacier Endicott

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(Map of Endicott Arm/fjord and glacier. The glacier appears on the right, looks like frozen rivers.)

Tuesday, we turned East into the Endicott fjord, on our way to see our first glacier up close. Even before breakfast, we'd noticed increasing amounts of blue ice in the water.

(You can click on pictures to see larger.)

We were finishing breakfast when as we turned a corner, I caught my first glimpse of the glacier in the distance. I ran back to grab the camera and get up on deck (in the rain, natch) to get pictures of our approach.

We kept moving in closer to the glacier, until we were only a few hundred feet away. Then the captain did an amazing thing: for the next two hours he spun our 900 ft. long ship slowly on its axis in the narrow fjord, (three or four complete rotations) so that everyone would have a good view! Those dark stripes you see are not tire tracks, but rather sediment, including large boulders, that have been picked up and dragged by the glacier. I was lucky enough to get to see one big piece toward the left calve off, with a crack and loud boom. Unfortunately, didn't get the camera on and focused quickly enough to catch it.

The sound near the glacier was like a giant cocktail, or maybe a bowl of Rice Krispies, a constant crackling and popping of ice. Yes, it really is this color!

The local seals like to hang out on the bits of calved glacial ice. BRRRR! (But they seemed quite content and comfortable.)
Magnificent, isn't it?

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