alaskan

Shakes lake in named after famous Tlingit chief and is one of the deepest (1200`) in the North America.Carved by retreating Shakes glacier it is connected to Stikine river by a waterway called Shakes slough. Icebergs never make it to the Stikine river because the mouth of the lake is too shallow so they all get stuck there.

The entrance to the Shakes lake.The Shakes glacier is at the end of the lake out of sight on the left. The mountain is called Castle mt, half is Alaska,half is B.C.


Icebergs piled up at the lake entrance.




The Castle mountain is 7222` high.


The Castle mt. thru a horizontal hole in one of the icebergs.Not a fake.






The Shakes glacier is in the background (upper left).






The Shakes glacier at the end of the lake.

emrob62 Loc: NEPA

absolutely beautiful. On my list of places to get to.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Beautiful display of blue ice!

Do the Captains shut off the boats for a bit, to listen to the peacefullness of the area?

I heard, it takes a 100 inches of snow to compact to create 1 inch of blue ice. Is there any truth to that?
Thanks for sharing!!!
Pat

donrent Loc: Punta Gorda , Fl

You certainly do get around....

Got a question Ivan: What is the status of the glaciers in Alaska... Alive and still moving in some areas or dead and recedeing in other areas... With all the government bs being passed around I don't know what to believe...

AK Dreamer Loc: Alaska & Nevada

As expected of you, good photos Ivan! Is Castle Mountain one of the large formations you can see from the ferry when travelling the inside passage? I've been wondering for quite some time the name. The name Castle Mtn. doesn't ring a bell to me.

alaskan

Yes the Captains I have been with do.Many times we just float there having lunch.While I cannot tell you how many inches of snow it takes to create 1" of blue ice I can tell you it is a long process lasting hundreds or thousands of years. The main difference between a pile of snow and glacier is glacier moves downhill and does not completely melt during summer.As the new layers of snow accumulate the bottom layers experience tremendous pressure.Over a period of time the snow flakes change into tiny iceballs and are fused together into ice under extreme pressure.The word "firn" decribes the condition in between. Really old glacier ice is almost opticaly clear and so compressed/hard it is very fragile. You can bite into it without breaking your teeth. Such ice with internal pressure higher than you have in your car tires melts very slowly and really does not have much in common with the ice cubes from your fridge.I have seen some icebergs literally explode when they rolled over and the bottom part was exposed to air. BTW all glaciers in SE Alaska have worms in them. Thanks, Ivan.

Bruce with a Canon Loc: Islip

Awesome as ususal, a treat to see your work.

alaskan

What you have on mind is "global warming". I have seen more glaciers around Juneau but I am only well informed about those in my area=Shakes glacier and LeConte glacier. Glaciers seem to have their own "mind" and they behave differently. Meaning they can have a period when they retreat or advance faster than usual.As far as I know they all or most of them are losing ground.If they did not and the Earth did not warm up we still would have the Ice age.The Earth went thru several such cycles in the past without any human influence, the last Ice age in this area was about 20000 years ago.The Shakes lake did not exist and the Coastal mountin range and Stikine river were covered by a giant icefield about 4-5000` thick. The lake was created by the retreating glacier . The same goes for the LeConte glacier which created a long fjord/fiord.The last few years LeConte has been moving forward at incredible speed of 90` per day but surprisingly the face is not losing any ground.
Thanks, Ivan.

Jay Pat Loc: Round Rock, Texas, USA

I had not heard of "firn", before.
Had not heard of the ice exploding.
I had heard of the worms...Never seen any.

Thank you for the info!!
Pat

alaskan

Yes, you can see the Castle Mt. from the ferry arriving or departing Wrangell.You have to look toward the Stikine river delta and the Castle Mt. appears for a limited time. The old name for this mountain was the Castle Peak but I have not seen any map which would use that name. The Castle mountain is part of the Coastal mountains, when the US-Canada border was created they used the tallest mountains as markers.That is why the international border of SE Alaska zigzags at places.I consider the Castle Mt. the most beautiful mountain of this area but others like the infamous Devil`s Thumb and Kate`s Needle are better known. Thanks, Ivan.

Peanut Loc: St Augustine, Fl

Beautiful...one of my best memories is taking a boat and then launching a kayak to get up close and personal with a glacier. There is nothing like it. Your pictures are outstanding!!! :-) The quiet is like no other.

alaskan

Here is a really old glacier ice (LeConte glacier). Ivan.

Bmac Loc: Long Island, NY

Very impressive photos Ivan, thanks for sharing.

AK Dreamer Loc: Alaska & Nevada

Thanks Ivan. Now that you mentioned a name, I believe that the Devil's Thumb is the mountain I was trying to remember. For those that have never been to your area, I have to say it is one of the most amazing places on earth and should be placed on everyone's "bucket" list. Your photos are testament to this.

alaskan

Devil`s Thumb shows well from Petersburg.Thanks, Ivan.