Glacier Bay National ParkBy Alex

Glacier Bay was first explored in 1874 by a team called H.M.S.Glacier bay was in Alaska and the caption’s name was George Vancouver. When they got near the shoreline the only thing they saw was a 1,000 foot high and 4,000 foot thick glacier.They never got to see inside the park where lush plants, giant trees and a abundance of wildlife roamed for 3 and a half million acres.In 1912 ,John Muir found that glacier had retreated and formed a bay. That is why it was called Glacier Bay, and in 1975 it was made into a national park.The weather is usually rainy and stays around 50 degrees until winter.The way to get there is take a plane to Juneau Alaska then take a smaller plane to the park because there is no road.It scored 89 out of a 100 in a vacation survey.

This park hosts a variety of animals. You can sometimes see bears

and elk swimming in some of small lakes in the park.There are over 200 species of fish found in the park and only two are fresh water. There have been rumors of a 70 pound white fish swimming off the coast of Glacier Bay. Most of the birds in the park are ones that like the water. Whales migrate to Glacier Bay every year. They are the most popular tourist attraction next to the glaciers here.Sea lions are found lying on the rocks and swimming in the ocean, Glacier Bay is a great place to see many deer and elk roaming in the woods.

The variety of plants is so large because of the very stable climate from spring to winter. One part of the forest is upland forest,this part of the forest is all of your very tall trees like oak,and pine. Then there is the lowland forest, that is the bushes and small shrubs. There are even a few bogs located around the park. They have trees held in barely by the mush in the bog.Salt marsh is very common near the ocean,they include the plants that are tolerant to salt water. In the northern part of the park there is sub Alpine tundra, these are the plants that can survive in the tundra.Sub Alpine meadow are found very close to the glaciers and mountains. They are small trees and do not grow very fast.

There are many different fun activities to do at Glacier Bay national park.One of the tourists many favorites is bear watching, You can see

many brown and black bear roaming the country side . The most popular attraction is whale watching. You take a boat out into the pacific and you can see humpback whales breaching.The little babys will come up very often so this is a recommended whale watching spot. Fishing is great here at glacier bay. You can find a variety fishing here like tour guide fishing and one where your on your one with a map. This is a great spot to brush up for tournaments and find the big Arctic sturgeon . You can also take flight and fly around the park and see its wonderful beauty. One of of the many places you will fly to is the Yukon Rail Road. It was used majorly during the Klondike gold rush in 1898.

Glacier bay is a great place for people of all ages.In 1975 this park was created,and It’s fun all year round and you can never get tired of it.You can’t resist the baby humpbacks swimming with there mothers. And watch out for those bears and stay very far away when there eating.