SITKAGI BLUFFS — While paddling a glacial lake complete with icebergs and milky blue water, I dipped my left hand, then tasted my fingers. Salty. That was a surprise to me, thirsty there on the edge of the colossal disc of Malaspina Glacier. I was traveling with two friends, mostly on foot. We had inflated […]
The recent landslide-generated tsunami in Tracy Arm of Southeast Alaska recalls the granddaddy of them all: the giant wave that scarred Lituya Bay in 1958. Lituya Bay, on the Pacific coast about 100 miles southeast of Yakutat and 40 miles west of Glacier Bay, is the site of the largest splash wave ever recorded. In […]
Camped on an island in Southeast Alaska a few mornings ago, Sasha Calvey heard a commotion outside her tent. “(On Aug. 10) at 5:45 a.m., I woke to a loud roar of rushing water,” the 25-year-old kayaker and outdoor educator said. “Then there was this massive tidal surge just inches away from our tent.” Calvey […]
Thirty years ago, students from the Auntie Mary Nicoli Elementary School in Aniak were among those who held a statewide election to declare an insect that best represented Alaska. Their school’s winner: The dragonfly. It mauled the mosquito, battered the butterfly and bested the bumblebee. The Aniak students’ results mirrored others across the state: The […]