Tracy Arm is a

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Icela ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

near Juneau (outlet at 57° 46' 40" N 133° 37' 0" W). It is named after the

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

Benjamin Franklin Tracy. It is located about south of Juneau and north of Petersburg, Alaska, off of Holkham Bay and adjacent to Stephens Passage within the Tongass National Forest. Tracy Arm is the heart of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, designated by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washi ...

in 1990 Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness contains and consists of two deep and narrow fjords: Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. Both fjords are over long and one-fifth of their area is covered in ice. During the summer, the fjords have considerable floating ice ranging from hand-sized to pieces as large as a three-story building. During the

most recent Most or Möst or ''variation'', may refer to: Places * Most, Kardzhali Province, a village in Bulgaria * Most (city), a city in the Czech Republic ** Most District, a district surrounding the city ** Most Basin, a lowland named after the city ** ...

glaciated period, both fjords were filled with active glaciers.

Access

The most common access is by boat using Stephens Passage and entering Holkham Bay and Tracy and Endicott Arms. Float planes from Juneau and Petersburg are also used as a means of access. Large tour vessels and smaller commercial cruise boats frequently use Tracy Arm as a tour destination or as a stop along their normal tour routes.

Sawyer Glacier

The twin Sawyer Glaciers, North Sawyer and South Sawyer, are located at the end of Tracy Arm. The wildlife in the area includes black and brown

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the N ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

, wolves,

harbor seal The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared s ...

s, and a variety of

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

, such as Arctic terns and pigeon guillemots. The mountain goats, which are usually found in the higher elevation areas, have been seen near the base of Sawyer Glacier. Sawyer glacier tracy arm 2021

Deepwater Emergence

The deep passageways and thin continental shelf leads to unique connections between offshore and inshore waters. The colder water temperature, nutrient-rich upwelling, and strong currents allow for many species that live in deeper water to survive in the shallower waters. The corals in this area, such as ''

Primnoa pacifica ''Primnoa pacifica'' or red tree coral is a species of soft coral in the family Primnoidae. It is a deep water coral found in the North Pacific Ocean, and plays an integral role in supporting benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region ...

'', have contributed to the location being labeled as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern. ''P. pacifica'' is typically a deep water coral normally found between and ; however, in the Tracy Arm it is found between and , offering a unique opportunity for research.

References

{{Authority control Bodies of water of Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska Bodies of water of Juneau, Alaska Fjords of Alaska Landforms of Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska Landforms of Juneau, Alaska Glaciers of Alaska Glaciers of Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska Glaciers of Juneau, Alaska Protected areas of Hoonah–Angoon Census Area, Alaska Protected areas of Juneau, Alaska Tourist attractions in Juneau, Alaska Wilderness areas of the Tongass National Forest Glaciers of Unorganized Borough, Alaska