Prince William Sound

I took an 8-hour cruise to Meares Glacier.  We didn't see much wildlife this early in the year, but the views were spectacular ...

In Alaska there are 30,000 square miles of glacier ice, covering five percent of the state.  Glacier ice is blue because the physical properties of the water molecule absorb all of the colors in the spectrum except the blue, which is transmitted.  The Meares Glacier is over 200 years old.

Meares Glacier

View as we headed from shore through Port Valdez

The pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez is 800 miles in length (and I have now traveled the entire length).  The first tanker left Valdez August of 1977, carrying Alaska crude to an American refinery.  An average of 20 tankers dock in Valdez per month.  Since the 1989 oil spill, the Sound is almost back to normal, including the quality of the water.  The precautions now set in place to prevent anything like that happening again are very extensive.


Steller Sea Lion - Large males average 1,200 lbs, females up to 650 lbs.  They eat during the night, sunning and resting on rocks during the day.  Bull Head is mostly a bachelor colony.  They are noted for their boisterous bellowing (versus the "barking" sound California sea lions make).


Humpback Whale - These whales are baleen feeders, consuming nearly a ton of food a day, mostly plankton and emails with pups are seen up on the icebergs near glaciers.  They dive up to 600 feet to retrieve their food.

We saw three Eagles - this one sitting on an ice chunk.  The other two were in the trees

 
Sea Otter - The largest members of the weasel family in North America, males weighing up to 100 lbs.  When not eating, consuming nearly 25% of their weight daily, they float on their backs, grooming, and resting.  They also use their stomachs as their "dinner tray" and carry their pups there as well.
 









Harbor Seal - Females with pups are seen up on the icebergs near glaciers.  They dive up to 600 ft to retrieve their food.