Established 1925, redesignated as a national park in 1980. The park, located
in the Saint Elias Mountains on Glacier Bay, is noted for its great tidewater
glaciers and lofty peaks, the highest of which is Mount Fairweather (4,663
m/15,299 ft). Among the park’s glaciers, which rise to 60 m (200 ft) above the
water’s edge, is Muir Glacier. The park is important for scientific research on
the formation and movement of glaciers and on the conditions existing after
glacial retreat. The landscape ranges from rocky ice-swept terrain to lush
forests of spruce and hemlock. Wildlife includes the black and brown bear,
mountain goat, seal, sea lion, whale, puffin, eagle, and cormorant. Area,
1,328,664 hectares (3,283,200 acres).
Muir Glacier, large glacier, southeastern Alaska. It is named
for the American explorer and naturalist John Muir, who sighted it in 1879.
The ice stream flows down the slopes of Mount Fairweather (4,663 m/15,299 ft)
and enters Glacier Bay as a palisade of ice nearly 3 km (nearly 2 mi) long and
from 40 to 65 m (from 135 to 210 ft) high. It forms a barrier across the head
of the bay and reaches 230 m (760 ft) below sea level. Muir Glacier is in
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.
