Petersburg, Scenery Cove
The passing of the new moon on August 8th has caused extreme tide fluctuations on these Southeast Alaskan shores for the past few days. With over 20 vertical feet of change in a mere six hours, long stretches of beach are alternately flooded and dry twice each day. As all beachcombers know, this is the time to explore the fascinating world between high and low tide.
We arrived in Petersburg early this morning, and nearly had to scale the ramp to reach the top of the dock. Once there, though, we had a variety of options. Some chose to join William for a walk across the muskeg to arrive at Blind River. Others opted for a tour of the local fish cannery. The focus of the morning, however, was to take advantage of the minus two foot low tide and visit the beach. Arriving either on foot or by bus, we met at Sandy Beach Park, pulled on our rubber boots and took off. Not only does this beach host a phenomenal variety of intertidal life, it is also the site of the remains of 2000 year old Tlingit fish traps and petroglyphs. Mark McCallum, a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist joined us for the morning and shared his knowledge about the site, while his two sons helped us find the strange and wonderful creatures of the tidepools. There were mottled stars, green sponges, slimy gunnels, spiny urchins, brilliantly colored lined chitons and more. Life was crusted on and hidden under every rock and in every small pool.
Returning to the Sea Bird for lunch, we got underway and went north. By mid-afternoon we’d arrived at the lovely and aptly named Scenery Cove, off Thomas Bay. Since we’d walked all morning, we decided to go for water sports this afternoon. Either by kayak or Zodiac we all explored this steep shoreline and the terminus of the nearby Baird glacier. The shifting, misty clouds added an ethereal touch to the excursions, and the rain waited until most of us were back aboard the ship.
The passing of the new moon on August 8th has caused extreme tide fluctuations on these Southeast Alaskan shores for the past few days. With over 20 vertical feet of change in a mere six hours, long stretches of beach are alternately flooded and dry twice each day. As all beachcombers know, this is the time to explore the fascinating world between high and low tide.
We arrived in Petersburg early this morning, and nearly had to scale the ramp to reach the top of the dock. Once there, though, we had a variety of options. Some chose to join William for a walk across the muskeg to arrive at Blind River. Others opted for a tour of the local fish cannery. The focus of the morning, however, was to take advantage of the minus two foot low tide and visit the beach. Arriving either on foot or by bus, we met at Sandy Beach Park, pulled on our rubber boots and took off. Not only does this beach host a phenomenal variety of intertidal life, it is also the site of the remains of 2000 year old Tlingit fish traps and petroglyphs. Mark McCallum, a U.S. Forest Service archaeologist joined us for the morning and shared his knowledge about the site, while his two sons helped us find the strange and wonderful creatures of the tidepools. There were mottled stars, green sponges, slimy gunnels, spiny urchins, brilliantly colored lined chitons and more. Life was crusted on and hidden under every rock and in every small pool.
Returning to the Sea Bird for lunch, we got underway and went north. By mid-afternoon we’d arrived at the lovely and aptly named Scenery Cove, off Thomas Bay. Since we’d walked all morning, we decided to go for water sports this afternoon. Either by kayak or Zodiac we all explored this steep shoreline and the terminus of the nearby Baird glacier. The shifting, misty clouds added an ethereal touch to the excursions, and the rain waited until most of us were back aboard the ship.
