Glacier Bay, Alaska
The Briton sided with the Americans.
In part, the boundary was to follow “…the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast”…from 56 degrees north latitude to the intersection with 141 degrees west longitude, and “…shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues”…from the ocean. This boundary description had been written into the 1867 Convention between the U.S.A. and the Emperor of Russia. It was in that year that the financially desperate Russians sold the territory that was to be known as Alaska to the United States, for the enormous sum of 7.2 million dollars in gold bullion. Seward’s Folly it was called, but what a bargain!
The boundary sounded simple, but to the governments of Canada, Great Britain and the United States it presented a problem. Where exactly was the line that would separate Canada from Alaska? Who could map this boundary when crude marine charts were all that existed? Land maps for this area were a thing of the future and, needless to say, the satellite-operated global positioning system (GPS) that we know today was not even a dream in the minds of science fiction writers. Moreover, how could a marine league be applied to a mountainous land mass? By 1903, with the Klondike gold rush in full swing, the Canadians disputed the boundary as drawn by the Americans. They claimed that, at least in the north part of the coast, it should run across inlets from headland to headland. The northern reaches of both Lynn Canal and Glacier Bay (much of which was still ice-filled), should be in Canada. The Americans disagreed. A joint arbitration commission of three Americans, two Canadians and a Briton met in London. The U.S. claim was upheld by a vote of 4 to 2. It is safe to say that the U.S. did not realize just how much they had won with this decision.
Today, we explored Glacier Bay, a wilderness area that any country would be proud to own. Calving glaciers, seabirds, brown bears, black bears, sea otters, mountain goats, emerging forests, a textbook lesson in geology; they were all there for us, under glorious sunshine and calm seas. Perhaps it was the sea otter that captured our spirits most. In 1929 this species was declared extinct…gone from the face of the earth. So relentless had been the Russian, British, American and French hunt for its luxurious fur - soft gold as it was called - that the hunters could find no more. Fortunately, though, a few survived…hidden and protected by natives in the Aleutian Islands and by far-sighted individuals living at Big Sur on the coast of California. With rigid protections and sound management, the species has come back. Perhaps as many as 1,800 now enjoy the waters of Glacier Bay National Park, and many more can be found in southern Alaska, British Columbia and California. Although populations in the Aleutians are declining, for reasons that are still unclear, the seas otter appears to have a bright future. We were treated to exceptionally close encounters with them today. The individual seen here was enjoying a meal of large mussels as he drifted slowly off our bow. An expert at cracking the shells and tearing out the rich, red-orange tissue, he was equally adept at rolling over to wash the debris off his dense fur, a habit that is essential if he is to maintain an insulating layer of air within the fur. That dense fur and air-lock are his sole protection from the icy water.
The Briton sided with the Americans.
In part, the boundary was to follow “…the summit of the mountains situated parallel to the coast”…from 56 degrees north latitude to the intersection with 141 degrees west longitude, and “…shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues”…from the ocean. This boundary description had been written into the 1867 Convention between the U.S.A. and the Emperor of Russia. It was in that year that the financially desperate Russians sold the territory that was to be known as Alaska to the United States, for the enormous sum of 7.2 million dollars in gold bullion. Seward’s Folly it was called, but what a bargain!
The boundary sounded simple, but to the governments of Canada, Great Britain and the United States it presented a problem. Where exactly was the line that would separate Canada from Alaska? Who could map this boundary when crude marine charts were all that existed? Land maps for this area were a thing of the future and, needless to say, the satellite-operated global positioning system (GPS) that we know today was not even a dream in the minds of science fiction writers. Moreover, how could a marine league be applied to a mountainous land mass? By 1903, with the Klondike gold rush in full swing, the Canadians disputed the boundary as drawn by the Americans. They claimed that, at least in the north part of the coast, it should run across inlets from headland to headland. The northern reaches of both Lynn Canal and Glacier Bay (much of which was still ice-filled), should be in Canada. The Americans disagreed. A joint arbitration commission of three Americans, two Canadians and a Briton met in London. The U.S. claim was upheld by a vote of 4 to 2. It is safe to say that the U.S. did not realize just how much they had won with this decision.
Today, we explored Glacier Bay, a wilderness area that any country would be proud to own. Calving glaciers, seabirds, brown bears, black bears, sea otters, mountain goats, emerging forests, a textbook lesson in geology; they were all there for us, under glorious sunshine and calm seas. Perhaps it was the sea otter that captured our spirits most. In 1929 this species was declared extinct…gone from the face of the earth. So relentless had been the Russian, British, American and French hunt for its luxurious fur - soft gold as it was called - that the hunters could find no more. Fortunately, though, a few survived…hidden and protected by natives in the Aleutian Islands and by far-sighted individuals living at Big Sur on the coast of California. With rigid protections and sound management, the species has come back. Perhaps as many as 1,800 now enjoy the waters of Glacier Bay National Park, and many more can be found in southern Alaska, British Columbia and California. Although populations in the Aleutians are declining, for reasons that are still unclear, the seas otter appears to have a bright future. We were treated to exceptionally close encounters with them today. The individual seen here was enjoying a meal of large mussels as he drifted slowly off our bow. An expert at cracking the shells and tearing out the rich, red-orange tissue, he was equally adept at rolling over to wash the debris off his dense fur, a habit that is essential if he is to maintain an insulating layer of air within the fur. That dense fur and air-lock are his sole protection from the icy water.
