Pictures of the Sawyer Glacier in the Tracy-Arm Fjord on an Alaskan Cruise

Tracy Arm Fjord has been referred to as one of the most dramatic and scenic locations in North America.

Tracy Arm Fjord has been referred to as one of the most dramatic and scenic locations in North America. The fjord is protected and completely within the Tongass National Forest and it stretches about 25 miles up into the Coastal Range Mountains.

Tracy Arm Fjord is home to Sawyer Glacier.  The fjord has 7,000-foot-high snowcapped mountains dropping almost vertically down to sea level and surrounded by sheer 1,500-to 2,000-foot walls of granite.  Countless waterfalls and strange rock formations are covered in forest, and trees are hanging on to precipices at impossible angles.

Sawyer Glacier has abundant wildlife including black and brown bears, deer, wolves and moose. Even mountain goats, which usually keep to higher elevations, have been seen near its base.

Passing through Tracy Arm - Seeing the Sawyer Glacier

Our first glimpse of the Sawyer Glacier	Magnificient view of Tracy-Arm Fjord	Everyone seems bundled up agains the cold	Chunks of glacier Ice!
Kathy looks warm	Spectacular views!	Floating mini-icebergs	I would not want to go swimming in this!

In recent geological times, (within the last 400 years) a glacier sat at the mouth of Tracy Arm depositing large amounts of gravel and rock producing a recessional moraine bar which can be seen at low tide. The flood and ebb tidal currents in and out of Tracy Arm have carved a narrow opening through which the ship needs to navigate. Once across the bar the water depths increase rapidly to over 1000 feet. The tremendously steep fjord walls , hanging valleys, waterfalls and glacially polished rocks all contribute to the great experience that waits us in Tracy Arm.

The Glacier is called the Sawyer Glacier.