Ethereum Muir glacier rises
Muir glacier, located in the Glacier Bay, protrudes from the northern tip of Alaska, is named after the scientist Muir. The narrow glacial Bay extends about 105 kilometers inland, and there are more small bays (actually carved by glaciers) on the edge. Most of these small bays are sudden ice walls, which are the tip of the iceberg extending from the hillside to the coast. Since 1982, Muir glacier has retreated rapidly. As the glacier retreated, plants quickly replaced the glacier and covered the earth's surface. In addition to the iceberg, the wild animals in the glacier also attract tourists from all over the world
Glacier Bay National Park is located at the junction of Alaska and Canada, including a series of glaciers. In 1925, it became a national memorial park to protect the glacial environment and local vegetation. In 1980, Glacier Bay became a national park and reserve. In 1986, it was listed as a biological reserve by UNESCO. The park covers an area of about 13000 square kilometers, including about 2500 square kilometers of salt water area and 1415 kilometers of coastline. There are abundant natural landscapes and complete ecosystems here, and the typical glaciation has formed a charming scenery. The high mountains, the beaches and fjords surrounding the safe harbor, and the tidal glaciers are the characteristic landscapes of this area
In 1794, when British navigator Vancouver arrived at the AISI Strait on the discovery, there was no Glacier Bay. All he saw was the end of a huge glacier, a wall of ice 16 kilometers long and 100 meters high. But 85 years later, American naturalist Muir came here and found a vast Bay. The glacier has retreated 77 kilometers to landnow, in glacial Bay National Park, the glacial fjord stretches 100 kilometers inland along the dense forests on both sides, ending with bare rocks or one of the 16 glaciers flowing down the mountain range on the border between the United States and Canada. The high peaks stand far above the horizon, overlooking the ice and snow land feeding the glacier, and the highest peak is fairwether peak, which is 4670 meters above sea level
In 1879, Muir once climbed the towering fairweather peak. He described the winglike clouds surrounding the peaks, the sun shining through the edge of the clouds, the clear waters of the fjords and the vast ice fields; It also describes the extraordinary beauty of the dawn scenery and the red flame burning on the mountain“ The magnificent glow disappeared, "wrote Muir, who was intoxicated with it." the multicolored rays graally faded into a light yellow and white. ". Such beautiful scenery can still be seen todaythe coastal area of Glacier Bay belongs to marine climate. In summer, the melting snow roars at the bottom of the glacier, eroding out caves and ditches. Finally, when the melting glacier is too thin to support, it collapses. In recent centuries, the amount of snow in winter was less than that in summer, so the glacier retreated at the rate of 400 meters per year. Muir glacier retreated 8000 meters in seven years. The climate is mild and humid in winter. Inland belongs to high altitude areas, the climate is cold all year round. The average annual precipitation of the whole area is about 1800 mm, 2870 mm in coastal area and 390 mm in inland area. Glacier Bay is an undeveloped wilderness, which has attracted worldwide attention e to the rapid melting of glaciers and the formation of 16 tidal icebergs in the past two centuries. The 16 tidal icebergs here account for more than half of the 30 tidal icebergs found in the world
There are also many distinctive marine species in the Glacier Bay. The soil layer is graally formed here, and the nitrogen fixing bacteria in the roots of shady plants make the soil fertile. Clusters of dwarf alders and willows appeared, followed by larger black deltoids, which eventually gave way to hemlock and spruce forests, which are now all over the coast. After the emergence of vegetation, animals that eat plants appear, and then birds of prey and beasts of prey, such as wolves. In summer, huge icebergs provide a habitat for sea dogs. In summer, there are also 14 meter long humpback whales, which come here to play after winter in Hawaii. Muir witnessed the birth of countless icebergs and was fascinated by them. "They've been crawling through glaciers for centuries, and now they've finally been able to get rid of them. They're floating in the water and turning over to become blue crystal islands," he wrote In the 18th and 19th century, a relatively stable group of residents appeared here, living in the edge of the alsake river. There is a lot of evidence to show that the River occupies an important position in history. In addition to local residents, traces of European presence have also been found, including mining, fur trading, logging, fishing and exploration. The humid climate and the rapid growth of plants cover up most of the traces of human habitation Of course, the most distinctive feature of the Glacier Bay must be the glacier. The whole Glacier Bay National Park contains 18 glaciers and 12 coastal glaciers, including the western edge of the park along the Gulf of Alaska and the Gulf of letoya. Several glaciers, which are far away and rarely visited by tourists, belong to Glacier Bay National Park When Muir arrived in 1879, he had retreated about 24 kilometers to the north; In 1999, with a length of about 40 kilometers, a width of about 2300 meters and a height of about 100 meters, it is the most magnificent sea ice in Glacier Bay National Park, crossing the border between Alaska and British Columbia. At present, the surface of the glacier is covered with a large amount of sediment carried by the upstream, which is slightly gray In 1912, the majery glacier was separated by the retreat of the Pan Pacific glacier, and became another independent glacier to the sea, 22.4 km long, 1.6 km wide and 59-122 m high; Its white ice rock section is even more magnificent. It is called the most beautiful glacier together with the Pan Pacific glacierbecause of the lack of thermal insulation covered by sand, people will witness the marvelous scene of the glacier collapse in summer and experience the rumbling sound, which is as wonderful as the sound of nature. Apart from the rumble of the iceberg, it also caused a commotion among the creatures in the water and the sky in the glacier area. The flying birds and seals chased the swimming fish aroused by the iceberg. The wonder of nature's food chain is really amazing. It turns out that Glacier Bay National Park is not a desolate and quiet place, but a vibrant world. The Glacier Bay in the sun is a white sculpture of nature. The glaciers in front of us are the crystallization accumulated over decades or even hundreds of years
The hapkin glacier is about 20 km long, 1600 m wide and 61-122 m high; It was named in memory of John hapkin entering the Glacier Bay with John Muir in 1879the Ryder glacier is located in Ryder Bay. Rydney Bay is the channel for the Glacier Bay National Park to enter and exit the Pan Pacific glacier and majery glacier. Due to the different accumulation and density of the glaciers, we can see that the original ice is not only one color, but also various kinds of blue, which adds a mysterious color to the misty fog
so why do glaciers look blue? Glaciers grind the river wall loose, creating rock fragments of different sizes. The debris is mixed in or pressed at the bottom of the glacier and carried to the lake. Large pieces of gravel precipitate to form a delta, small pieces of gravel are scattered into the lake area, leaving only the smallest wavy tile like ice floating in the water. The ice distributed in the water can refract the blue and green light in the light. Therefore, these glaciers have a world-famous special color. As the ice melts, the color of the lake will be more dazzling e to the increase of ice in the water. If the surface of the glacier appears white and gray, it is because it contains air and impurities, which affect the refraction of light. In the deeper ice of the glacier, the air and impurities will be squeezed out naturally e to the pushing process of the glacier flow, so it has a blue luster. Most of the extruded ice crystals are of the same size and can show blue waves in sunlight
the formation of glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park is caused by the speed of snow melting. In short, the temperature in high mountain areas is lower than that in plain areas. For every 100 meters rise, the temperature will drop by 0.6 ℃. When the temperature drops to 0 ℃, and there is enough humidity and rainfall, it will snow; And where it snows, it forms an invisible line, the so-called snow line. It will not snow when the temperature below the snow line is less than 0 ℃; In areas above the snow line, it will snow only when the temperature is below 0 ℃. When winter comes, the temperature decreases, and the high mountain areas above the snow line snow quickly; When spring comes, the temperature rises, melting the snow into water. Before the snow had completely melted, winter came again. As a result, the temperature drops, the water freezes and snows again, accumulating on the original ice. So year after year, when the thickness of ice accumulates to a certain extent, e to gravity, it will slide along the mountain, thus forming glaciers
the high peaks stand on the horizon, overlooking the ice and snow land, and the highest peak is fairwether peak, which is 4670 meters above sea level. The coastal area here has a marine climate. It is cool and humid in summer and mild and humid in winter. Inland belongs to high altitude areas, the climate is cold all year round. The average annual precipitation of the whole area is about 1800 mm, 2870 mm in coastal area and 390 mm in inland area
every summer, the snow water at the bottom of the glacier melts, and the water rushes and roars, eroding all kinds of caves and ditches. Finally, when the glacier above is too thin to support, it collapses. The sound of ice breaking and falling reverberates inside the Glacier Bay, and the scene is very spectacular. In recent centuries, the amount of snow in winter was less than that in summer, so the glacier retreated at the rate of 400 meters per year. The Muir glacier retreated eight kilometers in seven years. The land slowly retreats to its ice sheet, exposing rocks, and animals and plants recapture the territory lost in the "Little Ice Age" that began about 4000 years ago
scientists have accelerated the re-entry process of biological species under the condition of glacier retreat. At first, there was only one layer of algae growing on the exposed rocks, then mosses and lichens were exposed, and then there were fine shady plants growing on the gravel pile, where there were traces of pre ice age forest growth
the soil layer graally formed, and the nitrogen fixing bacteria in the roots of shade plants made the soil fertile. Clusters of dwarf alders and willows appeared, followed by larger black deltoids, which gave way to hemlock and spruce forests, which are now all over the coast. After the emergence of vegetation, animals that eat plants appear, and then birds of prey and beasts of prey, such as eagles, wolves and so on
the rich and changeable natural environment also provides a good living place for many animals and plants. The vegetation in the area is rich, from inland to coastal areas are rock, alpine zone and temperate rainforest, and the plants are mainly Alpine pine. Vegetation extends from coastal areas to valley forests
in summer, huge icebergs from glacier collapses provide habitat for sea dogs. There are also a variety of animals in the Glacier Bay Area: brown bears, black bears, mountain goats (stone goats), whales (including humpback whales), seals and eagles (Eagles). Some rare animals such as dor sheep and grizzly bear can also be seen here. Alaska is often called the last bastion of Grizzlies in North America because it is the last and best place for Grizzlies to live. There were tens of thousands of Grizzlies in the 48 states of the United States, but now there are less than a thousand. Only Alaska has a large number of Grizzlies, about 31000. Grizzly bears are powerful predators that can hunt other large mammals, but do not often attack humans
it was inhabited by human beings in 10000 BC. The relatively stable population group appeared on the edge of the alsake River, and there are many evidences showing that the River occupies a very important position in history. In addition to the local residents, there are also traces of Europeans who have been here. They are engaged in mining, fur trading, logging, fishing and exploration activities. It's extremely difficult to find these traces of human habitation, because the humid climate and a large number of fast-growing plants have covered them.