Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness consists of two deep and narrow fjords: Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. One quarter of both fjords’ areas are covered in ice, and they’re both longer than 30 miles. There is a lot of ice floating around in the fjords during the summer, and it ranges in size from a person’s hand to a thirty-story skyscraper. The last glacial period saw both fjords filled with moving ice, creating a truly glacial environment.
The landscape of Endicott Arm is characterized by rocky mountains, deep U-shaped valleys, and massive waterfalls. Dawes Glacier, a tidewater glacier, is located at the fjord’s head. Bears, deer, mountain goats, eagles, and harbor seals are just some of the animals you can see there. In the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, you can get up close and personal with a number of tidewater glaciers, all of which are framed by towering mountains on all sides.
Dawes Glacier
The Endicott Arm, where Dawes Glacier is located, is a part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness. In a spectacular process known as calving, it routinely releases huge chunks of ice into the waters below. Different-sized icebergs float on the shimmering summer ocean. There are two active tidewater glaciers at the end of two beautiful deep-water fjords. Sawyer Glacier is located in Tracy Arm Fjord, and Dawes Glacie is located in Endicott Arm. Both the Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm fjords and glaciers are easily accessible from cruise ships. Thanks to their proximity to the mouth of Stephens Passage, they are easily accessible by all ship sizes. In the summer, you can go on day trips aboard small vessels every day.