Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Southeast Alaska protects a vast meeting of fjords, coastal mountains, glaciers, marine ecosystems, and wildlife, while also encompassing culturally significant Tlingit ancestral homelands. Federal protection began in 1925, expanded in 1978 and 1980, and later brought international recognition as a World Heritage Site and biosphere reserve. The area is especially important for its clear record of glacial change: once filled by a great tidewater glacier, it saw rapid ice retreat documented from 1794 to 1916, even as some glaciers advanced or remained stable. Its dynamic landscape continues to change through geological processes and ecological succession.

Elfin Cove, Alaska · United States