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Remote and wild, the Misty Fjords National Monument is one of Alaska’s best kept secrets. Covering 2.3 million acres of road less wilderness the Monument supports many nearly untouched coastal ecosystems. Ten thousand years ago the land was locked beneath 5000 feet of ice. Slowly the glaciers retreated and revealed the beauty we are able to see today.
Misty Fjords is known for the number and size of fish found in its lakes and streams. It provides habitat for all five northeastern Pacific species of salmon as well as grayling, Dolly Varden char, and brook, rainbow, steelhead, and cutthroat trout. Nearly half of all king salmon spawning and rearing streams in southeast Alaska are located within Misty Fjords. Most wildlife common to southeast Alaska may be found in the Misty Fjords. Bald eagles nest in large trees near rivers and shorelines, where pairs share the raising of young during summer. Alaska’s famous brown bears, black bears, Sitka black-tailed deer, wolves, and mountain goats are the common large mammals in Misty Fjords. Beaver, mink, marten, wolverine, and river otter are common small animals. In Behm Canal and nearby ocean waters, porpoises, whales, sea lions, and seals are often sighted. The forest of Misty Fjords is primarily western hemlock and Sitka spruce, with scattered red cedar and Alaska cedar. Between forest stands are openings called muskegs, bog plant communities growing on deep peat and dominated by sphagnum mosses, water-loving plants such as sedges and rushes, and shrubs which adapt to acid soils. Above timberline, about 2,500 feet, the alpine zone is dominated by heaths, grasses, and other low plants. Occasional trees occur, often with stunted or shrub like form due to adverse growing conditions in this zone. Few marks of human activity are apparent to the visitor in Misty Fjords. The first human inhabitants may have settled in the area as early as 10,000 years ago. Evidence of Tlingit and Haida Indian societies and of early American occupation may be found in a few places. The majestic landscape at Misty Fjords was created by thousands of years of glaciation and other earth processes. The unique Fjords were created by volcanoes, moving snow and ice, and wave action. Mineral springs and volcanic lava flows add to the unique geological features. Misty Fjords, often called one of America’s natural “Crown Jewels,” is truly an outstanding scenic wonder. Chip Porter has detailed many wonderful photos of Ketchikan and the Misty Fjords on his web site www.chipporteralaska.com His beautiful book: Misty Fjords, is available for sale through our company.
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Southeast
Sea Kayaks
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Narrow
fjords, just a quarter mile wide, stretch inland following the ever
retreating glaciers into Canada. Sheer sided walls plunge 3500 feet
from their snow clad tops to salt water and bear the grooves from the
rocks and ice that formed them. Trees cling in a crazed fashion growing
in any crack that will support their roots. Pristine alpine lakes fill
bowl shaped valleys and send waterfalls cascading down the rock walls.
Eagles soar the ridge tops. Mountain goats spring along tiny rock ledges.
Whales, porpoise, seals and sea lion ply the inlets. Black and brown
bear feed along the salmon streams and wolves and deer forage along
the beaches. Beaver ponds abound.
