Glacier Bay National Park Alaska

1. Glacier Bay National ParkAlaska Power Point By Jillian Lawrence

2. Pick a slide, any slide! • Founding Facts • Formation, The Scientific Explanation • Rock Types • Ohhh! Special! • This Changing Land • The E-Issues • Technology • Map 1 • Map 2 • Bibliography Page I • Bibliography Page II • Bibliography Page III • The Very Last Slide 

3. When was Glacier Bay Established as a National Park? Glacier Bay was christened a National Monument on Feb. 25, 1925, and was named a National Park on Dec. 2, 1980. William S. Cooper was an ecologist working for the University of Minnesota in the early 1920’s. He was studying plant life in the area and was amazed by the diverse botanical containment, and the spectacular glaciers. With the Ecological Society of America’s help, convinced President Calvin Coolidge to have the area named a National Monument. It has also been Wilderness designated, declared a Biosphere Reserve, and a World Heritage Site. Pick A Slide!

4. How was Glacier Bay formed?( From an Earth Science Perspective) Glacier Bay was formed when the Pacific and the North American continental plates collided. Frequently when this occurred, the Pacific plate was forced underneath the North American one, but occasionally a bit of land would break off of the Pacific plate. Some of these bits accumulated in one area, and formed the bay of Glacier Bay. About 20,000 years ago, an ice sheet covered the entire area near Glacier Bay, and beyond. In fact, you could walk from Glacier Bay to Cape Cod on that one sheet of ice. That’s more than 3,000 miles!! Pick A Slide!

5. What Types of Rocks are Found in Glacier Bay? As mentioned earlier, Glacier Bay was formed as the result of the North American and Pacific continental plates colliding over billions of years. As a result of this, magma was forced up from deep in the earth. It cooled almost immediately when it reached the water at the ocean floor. It was then shattered, picked up by approaching chunks of land, and transported to the general area of Glacier Bay, resulting in large amounts of igneous rock. Beds of granite have also been found I the glacier bay area, along with some deposits of limestone. Pick A Slide!

6. Special Features of Glacier Bay As indicated by the name of this spectacular park, glacier bay is the home of some spectacular tidewater glaciers in an immense saltwater bay. This gorgeous park also features mountains and valleys created by glaciers thousands of years ago. Pick A Slide!

7. How is the Land in Glacier Bay Currently Changing? The land of Glacier Bay National Park is startlingly dormant. Since it is not particularly close to a fault line, there is not much geological activity currently happening. The most startling change in Glacier Bay is in the ice. Aver a span of less than 70 years, many glaciers have receded almost a mile in some cases. Most have, shrunk, some have grown, and all have changed dramatically. Once, you could safely stand on in the middle of the Muir Inlet on a thick sheet of ice. Now, there is barely any evidence left that the glacier was there. Although they are receding, as they go the glaciers are still shaping some of the land in the Glacier Bay National Park. As the glaciers melt, they drop whatever they had been carrying, such as boulders, uprooted trees, and the occasional frozen animal. • These are photos of the Muir glacier. The black-and-white one was taken on August 13,1941. The color one was taken on August 31, 2004. You can see a little bit of white left between the hills. Compare that to the grayscale picture. Sad, isn’t it? Pick A Slide!

8. What Environmental Issues are Affecting Glacier Bay? Global warming is a very serious issue in Glacier Bay. The beautiful glaciers, the attraction that draws the most tourists to this lovely spot, are disappearing. Some of them have recede more that a kilometer in the last 60 years, and in glacier time, that’s really fast! Global warming is really the only issue affecting this park. It’s too far away from cities to have noise and light pollution, although it sometimes encounters air pollution and acid rain. Pick A Slide!

9. How is Technology use to Help Maintain and Preserve Glacier Bay Park? As they are Glacier Bay’s most prominent attraction, the glaciers are closely monitored by satellite and ground observatories. There are also various walkways through the park to avoid the damage to wildlife. Glacier Bay also has many boats to help with observation of the glaciers/ Pick A Slide!

10. Maps of Glacier Bay Pick A Slide!

11. This bay contains many of the tidewater glaciers that Glacier Bay is famous for. Pick A Slide!

12. Bibliography Page I • http://www.glacier.bay.national-park.com/info.htm • http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/glacier-bay-national-park-juneau-ak139.jpg • http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/data/media/16/glacier-bay-scenery_5434.jpg • http://www.waggonerguide.com/images/glacierbay.jpg • http://www-tc.pbs.org/harriman/images/log/album/jul28/glacierlayers.jpg • http://images.travelpod.com/users/ctssyount/2.1215918300.valley-of-glaciers.jpg *Some links may not work. If you really want to use them, copy and paste them into your browser. Thank you. Pick A Slide!

13. Bibliography Page II • http://www.usgs.gov/global_change/glaciers/repeat_photography.asp • http://s.ngeo.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/021/cache/glacier-bay_2110_600x450.jpg • www.nps.gov/glaba • http://mappery.com/maps/Glacier-Bay-National-Park-Map-2.mediumthumb.jpg • http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/data/media/24/cruise-ship-in-glacier-bay_4760.jpg • http://mappery.com/maps/Glacier-Bay-National-Park-and-Preserve-Official-Park-Map.thumb.pdf.png *Some links may not work. If you really want to use them, copy and paste them into your browser. Thank you. Pick A Slide!

14. Bibliography Page III • The Fairweather; Visitor Guide • http://www.glacier.bay.national-park.com/map.htm • Kelley, Mark, and Sherry Simpson. Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. Juneau, AK:M. Kelley, 2000. Print *Some links may not work. If you really want to use them, copy and paste them into your browser. Thank you. Pick A Slide!

15. Congratulations! You’ve Reached The End! Do you see the cute little seals that live in Glacier Bay? You will say “Awww!” and then go visit them! Many thanks to Rolf Hicker and iStockphoto for letting me use these! Pick A Slide!