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Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
Unstable Slopes, Landslides, and Giant Waves

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Date: March 24, 2009
Contact: Allison Banks, Public Information Officer, 907-697-2230

Glacier Bay visitors need to be aware that slope failures in Tidal Inlet may produce large waves and a risk to boaters and campers.

The landscape of Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is ever changing. The park’s glaciers, steep rugged slopes, and magnificent views attract over 400,000 visitors each year. Glacier Bay is also a natural laboratory drawing scientists from around the world to study its dynamic environment. The natural processes that formed this impressive terrain are still very much at work. Recently released from the grip of glacier ice, this newly exposed landscape is being shaped by water, ice, gravity, as well as biological and tectonic processes. When these processes coincide with human activities they can present potential hazards to human safety.

See landslides and giant waves for more information.

Forage fish  

Did You Know?
Dense schools of forage fish, like herring and sand lance, are an abundant food source for many creatures, from the massive Humpback Whale to the diminutive Marbled Murrelet. Schools of forage fish can be literally miles long and hundreds of feet thick.

Last Updated: March 25, 2009 at 14:11 EST