Glaciers- Modifiers of the Landscape

In her lecture on Thursday, June 5th, at the Valdez Museum, Suzanne McCarthy defined a glacier as "a long lasting mass of ice, formed on land, which moves under its own weight." According to her, there are three major kind of glaciers- Valley Glaciers, Piedmont Glaciers, and Ice Sheets. Glaciers are formed when more snow falls in the winter than can melt in the summer. The snow builds up, forms layers, which shrink together, compact, press out the air, and form ice. There are many glaciers in our area, most of which are receeding. They have, in large part, formed the terraine we see every day, and indeed are still impacting it. Some formations that glaciers leave behind are Horns, Aretes, Eradics, and Ogives. Sugarloaf is a nice big example of a Horn, which we see every clear day.
I am glad I had the chance to learn about glaciers from Suzanne. She has a good way of translating technical knowledge into everyday terms. For example, she talked about when glaciers dam off lakes, and then suddenly release and flood, just like when you have ice in your glass and add water to it, the ice suddenly will lift up and start to float as you fill the glass. This happens to Hidden Lake in McCarthy every mid-summer. Wouldn't it be neat if we got to see it happen while we're there? From far away, in a safe place, of course.

Dock Point

weather: Rainy day
Temperature: 50(degree f)
Plants: Samon berry,spiny wood fern,devils club,red berry aldar,star flower,Northern rice root black,goats beard.
organisms: slug snail,shell fungus
birds: gull bird,duck bird, remains of a dead eagle.
animals: Northern river otter.
On arrival at the Dock point, was the amazing Northern river otter but we hard a glare view of it because of the distance it had with us from the water.an otter is a sleek long-bodied mammal has glossy gray-brown coat,thick tail and webbed hind feet. it is mostly found near water throughout most of Alaska.
on our ascension up to the dock point,i identified a salmon berry,also known as rubus spectabilis, it's sizes 7ft often thick-forming shrub in the south coast of Alaska (pg110 nature of alaska). Also on the identification list was the spiny wood fern also known as dryopteris expansa,often fronds clustered,erect and spreading, 1m tall(pg422 plants of the pacific book). to add was the devils club, also known as oplopanax horridus(pg82)
we noticed the mid way to the top of the dock point, the soil was more fertile than at the foot of the dock point. there too was a star flower known also as trientalis europea with size of 6in.it is mostly found in muskegs, wet forests,tundra. a slug snail was also seen, goat beard known as aruscus sylvester with size of 4ft large, compound leaves usually have 7 leaflets. creamy flowers bloom in long giving the plant it characteristics appearance. found in moist woodlands,ravines,along water ways most common in coastal areas. i also realise that berries ripe faster at the top of the dock point than at the foot because they get more sunlight than at the foot.
i found a squerrel nest where the inhabitant of the colony, clean their nest during the summer getting ready to pile in more food in preparation for the next winter to come. the last but not the least, we found the remains of a dead eagle but from its features, it looked more like the bald eagle.

Dock Point

Top picture: A young Sitka Spruce sitting on the edge of the cliff.

Middle picture: "Impressive" Emmanuel explains the squirrel dens.

Bottom picture: Emmanuel, Wendy, and Dr. Julie examine an eagle's remains.

Dock Point. Valdez, AK

Rain (heavy sprinkle, off and on). Temps ranging from mid 40s to low 50s.

Plants (that I identified):

Sitka Spruce, Salmonberries, Devil’s Club, Arctic Willow, False Hellebore, Chocolate Lily, Dwarf Cornel, Yarrow, mosses and lichens, False Solomon Seal, Shell fungus

Animals:

Arctic Tern, Slug

Today, we went to Dock Point. It’s a little spit of land next to the small boat harbor. I’ve walked this trail before: twice during winter, once during the “melt and breakup” and twice after all of the snow melted. If someone didn’t tell you, you wouldn’t think that just a few months ago, this lush green and flowering point was completely dead and covered in snow. Only Alaska’s state tree, the Sitka Spruce was green during the winter. I walked this trail a couple weeks ago, and it wasn’t nearly as green as it was now. It’s like it grew overnight….

I think it started sprinkling as we left our car. The first thing we noticed was a (of the many lining the area) Sitka Spruce sitting on the edge of the rocks. Many of the plants at Dock Point sat on top, or on the sides of the rocks. They’re able to do that because moss and lichens break down the rocks and make a layer of soil just deep enough for the trees and plants to root.

As we walked down the path, we came upon these beautiful pinkish-violet blossoms, which were (after a couple minutes of research) identified as salmonberries. The point’s red alders, arctic willows, and Sitka spruce made the path look like a canyon of green (if you will).

Now you can get to the top of Dock Point two ways: You can go around and follow the curve that goes up the hill, or you go up a steep hill that brings you right to the top. For time reasons, we chose the hill. As we went up, we noticed how the many plants went from covering the ground, to being up towards the tops of their trunks and branches. Those plants are “reaching for the sun”, meaning that since the sunlight doesn’t really reach to the soil surface, the plants have to adapt. We identified the Arctic Willow and Devil’s Club on our way up, and I identified the False Hellebore once we got to the top. After the snow had melted, I noticed that the false hellebores were the first plants to start growing here at Dock Point and around Valdez.

The mosquitoes and bees weren’t as pesky as they have been when I’ve walked up here to the top. One day, a bee followed me all the way from the top of the hill to the beginning of the path. Not today, though. A couple curious bees flew around us, but didn’t follow us. As we strolled around the high part of dock point, we identified a Chocolate lily as well as dwarf cornels (probably known to you as ‘dogwood’). Further down, we identified some blossoming blueberry plants, which most of us plan to try out once they bear fruit.

Dock Point has an outlook path that is shrouded in Sitka Spruce and gives an amazing view of the harbor, mountains, Aleyska oil terminal and the eastern end of the fjord that Valdez sits in. As we walked along the path and took in the views, Giggy noticed a young Sitka Spruce growing on the edge of the cliff, and I took a photo of it. The temperature dropped a little during our walk on the outlook, I remember ‘seeing my breath’ at one point. Emmanuel came upon some squirrel dens and did an excellent job of explaining them to us; he then found the remains of an eagle. He was impressive on this trip! Also impressive was the role moss and lichens played on a dead spruce. They broke down (and are continuing to) break a dead tree which allowed for new trees (or ‘baby spruce’) to start growing. It’s like nothing goes to waste in nature.

As we headed back toward our car, the rain picked up. It picked up enough that we tried to make our way down the hill as fast, yet as safe as possible. It was nice to go to Dock Point and actually be able to identify the plants that were unknown to me before.

Dock Point Trip

June 03, 08

We did wonderful trip this time, reason why I have been living in Valdez April 2006. But I have never been this area. That day weather was a little chily and cloudy. End of the trip time there were cold runny and windy and around 50 degree.

I identified diversity of plants and other things.
I love the skunk cabbage, blue berry, horse tail, yarrow, cornel, rottenwood, chocolate lily, spiny wood fern, and some other birds.

I noticed that I would like to go to trip end of the July again.

Dock Point Trail

1. June 3, 2008, 2-4pm, Dock Point Trail
2. showers, upper 50s, light breeze
3. Inlet beach, rocky, leading to tidal marsh, up a gravel trail with steep sides, large rocky outcrops with glacier turbidite fans
4. Plants observed and personally identified: Sitka Spruce, Salmonberry, mosses, lichen,Sitka Alder, Devil's Club, Scouler Willow, Starflower, Dandelion, Skunk Cabbage, False Hellebore, Corn Lily, Horsetails, Blueberry
5. Animals observed and identified: mosquitoes, sparrow, bee, 2 crows, red squirrel, gulls, aphid, ducks

I just got back from our field trip, and I am damp from the rain and glad to have gone. It was great being able to identify so many things, but not always easy, even with the field guides we have. However, as a group, we found many different plants in a relatively small area. The reason for this is the diversity of the altitudes we traversed. We went from the rocky shore, past the marshy Duck Flats, and up to the top of this little island, which Dr. Julie told us was a remnant of Old Rain Forest area, which the glaciers skirted around. There were Sitka Spruce at the top which were very big around and must have been ancient.
It being Spring, many of the plants there were in their young phase, and if we go back in a few weeks, they will have changed a great deal. Immanuel found squirrel dens in the roots of some spruce trees, and a nest up in the branches. Underneath were the remains of the cones they had eaten during the long winter, piled up. Giggy informed us that if we wash our hair with the lichens, it will get shiny, and that the sap from the spruce would be good chewing gum. I don't think I'll try it.
One of the neat things we found was a Chocolate Lily, which will have brown flowers later on, and according to V. Pratt's Field Guide to Alaskan Wildflowers, is edible, but smells bad. We saw a few plants, though, that were definitely not edible and in fact poisonous. For example, we saw False Solomon's Seal, and Devil's Club, and Cow Parsnip, all of which are nasty in various ways. . . gorgeous plants. . . but nasty. Another neat thing was the Skunk Cabbage we saw. They have the most beautiful yellow lily- like flowers, and although they smell like skunk, I think I like them most of all.

We saw a "nurse tree," which is a rotting felled tree, acting as nurtition and safe harbor for new baby trees (in this case Sitka Spruce), mushrooms, mosses, and lichens. It's just a wonderful reminder that from death springs life, and we are all interconnected in the circle of life.
Lastly, we found the remains of what we think was a Bald Eagle- the feathers were all over the place. We figured they must have been from an old or infirm eagle, and they were very scattered and well picked over, meaning they helped nourish other animals. It is illegal to own the feathers or other parts of the Bald Eagle, so we left them there. Indeed, I called Animal Control just to let them know about the site.

Valdez Glacier Butterfly

I believe the butterfly we saw at Valdez Glacier was a Mustard White butterfly (Pieris napi).

VALDEZ GLACIER

It was on the 29 of May 08, the temperature was 69 degree F. At the top of the hills on our way to the valdez glacier, we could see distinction between the vegetations that is at the top of the hills were kind of brown vegetation due to cold and they had not blosom yet, while at the foot to mid hill the vegetation was green and beautiful. At our wonderful field trips the following were witnessed or encountered, a willow with kind of hairlike leaves, and Alder tree with doted white spots on the back,a mos plant and varieties of likens on the rocks.
Likens on their part,get their nutrients from the rock or from the air. further more where sticky scrubs that looked woody as was observed. also were Mos campions and the only insect that attracted our attention was the black spider and to add, was an artic willow and a horse tall which was out of experience by doctor Julie, could be used as a substitute for dish washing.
The field trip though was my first ever, was a great and wonderful one.

Valdez Glasier

Valdez Glasier
May 29, 2008

1:30 p.m.

Weather was sunny, a light windy and about 69 degree.

On the way to walk up Valdez Glasier we studied variety of plants and trees. I would like to share one of the trees which was very first studing object. But the evening of the trip I got sun and wind burn on my neck and face area. We should be safety this type of syndrom during the trip.

Red-alder Tree-25 m tall: bark thin, grey, and smooth, often with white patches of lichens, becoming scaly at the base with age; wood and inner bark turn rusty-red when cut.

Male and female flowers in hanging, cylindrical spikes appear before the leaves.

Red Alder wood is considered to be the best possible fuel for smoking salmon and other types of fish. It is soft and even-grained, and is still used for amking feast bowls, masks, rattles, and a variety of other items.

Valdez Glacier

Our first field trip would be to the Valdez Glacier. It was warm (69 degrees is very warm here), with very high clouds. Something I noticed about this field trip and these mountains, is how the trees covered the same slopes that snow and ice dominated only a few months before. Wendy would later say "It's like they grow overnight."
The first animal we spotted was a mountain goat. Dr. Julie spotted a "pile of snow with legs", high up on a mountain, and with a look through binoculars we saw that it was a mountain goat. As we watched it move around on it's small, but high cliff, I wondered if a mountain goat has ever taken a "bad step"....We heard birds singing in the area, but they did an excellent job of keeping themselves hidden. We did, however, spot a raven in flight..
As we continued on, we identified the paper birch, red alder, and many willows that seem to dominate the area. Except for some fire weed, a pink flowering plant spotted on the mountain closest to us, and horsetails, the birch, alders, and willows (creeping, and alpine) were the main plants here at the glacier. There were some mosses and dark lichens on the rocks and ground especially towards the glacial lake.
We found alot of quartz among the rocks (flysch), as well as a lot of rocks with iron in them (you can tell by the rust). The glacial lake (VERY COLD) was gray with ice floating around and the glacier itself was covered by black sediment. We got a chance to grab a couple pieces of the ice floating near us, and I got to taste it. It's probably the purest water you'll ever get to taste! On our way back to our car, we spotted 2 folks on a dirt bike and a 4-wheeler, along with with cars and trucks coming to and from the glacier lake. All of these made for some nice clouds of dust, which were more of a nuisance than a real health hazard.
Overall I enjoyed our trip to Valdez Glacier! It would be another thing I can tell people to get them to come and visit this wonderful land called "Alaska".

Valdez Glacier/ Airport Road

1. 5/29/08, 1:30pm-3:45pm, Valdez Glacier
2. sunny with some haze, approx. 70 degrees F., mild breezes from the southwest.
3. Alaskan SouthCoastal area, Temperate Rainforest, recently vacated glacial area, with silt, flysch, and till. Mountain terrain on our left, glacial lake and stream on our right, and glacier in front of us, active gravel pits nearby.
4. Willow, Alder, Black Cottonwood, Aspen or possibly birch, black, orange, yellow, and white lichen, moss (reddish green), fireweed, moss campion,
5. Mountain Goat, Bald Eagle, possible Pine Siskind or Wilson's Warbler, beetle, black spider, Mew Gulls (a pair), possible swift.

We got out of the vehicle and walked down a gravelly road, which consisted of glacier silt, flysch (thin layered rock), glacier till (rounded rocks worn smooth by glacier or water friction), and various other rocks which contained copper, iron, quartz, and other minerals.
On our left side, and indeed all around us, were mountains of the Chugach Mountain range. The closest mountain had water running down it in rivulets, from the melting snow. There was a small bird singing nearby, which may have been a Pine Siskind or maybe a Wilson's Warbler. I didn't get a good look at it, just a fleeting impression of small and yellowish. It was in a shrubby area.
Some of the trees I noticed were similar, but not the same as ones I am familiar with. For example, there was a tree I thought must be a birch because of the shapes of the leaves, the bark texture and horizontal dark scars, but it had a more golden color to it. Dr. Julie said to compare it to an Aspen, since it could be that, but I have looked up pictures of Aspen on the net, and I am still not certain. I will do more research on this. However, I was able to identify a Black Cottonwood tree and an Alder, as well as a few different types of willow, one of which had willow roses on it, which occur because of an infestation.
We saw a large boulder, which had black lichen, which I am told is a fungus/algae symbiot. We saw a reddish green moss on it, too. On other rocks, we got to observe orange, yellow, and white lichen. Other plants we identified include False Hellebore, aka Corn Lily, Horsetails, and a couple different types of fireweed. I saw a pink spot up on the mountain, and looking through the binoculars, I saw low bunches of flowering plants. I was able to determine that it was probably Moss Campion, from looking through the field guides and confering with my cohorts.
Signs of animal life- a nest halfway up a tree, which was made of twigs. It may have been a squirrel nest. Closer to the glacier, there was a pair of gulls, which I believe were Mew Gulls, based on their wing bands of white and black. There was also a very fast bird, flying low over the water, its wings barely visable because they were beating so quickly. I caught a glimpse of brown and white, and maybe stripes. I also saw a brown beetle winging by, a large black spider on the road, and a Bald Eagle soaring overhead. I found some black fur or hair that I am excited to see from whom or what it may have come.
On the little island we visited, I saw Arctic Willow, Alpine Willow, Jacob's Ladder, and Arctic Sandwort, all very small and unusual plants that only grow near glaciers, apparently.
What really struck me about this walk was the difference between our group and the tourists who were out there in their RV. They were throwing rocks into the water, goofing around, and one guy said to us that there was "nothing over there," where we were obviously going and observing such neat things. He saw nothing, and we saw. . . well not everything. . . but certainly more than he did. Poor dear. . .

Alaska Zoo

I wanted to post a little bit about our recent trip to the Alaska Zoo, which is in Anchorage on O'Malley Street. I had heard it wasn't a great zoo, so my expectations were not high, and I figured Henry would enjoy it, in any case. I was pleasantly surprised by how many animals were easily seen and the fact that most of them were Alaskan natives who had been "rescued" from injuries, etc.. We got to see many critters that you just never see up close, such as wolverines, lynx (lynxes?), wolves, a snowy owl, river otter. This was good because we got to see how they really look and move. Henry got to see them and seemed to think they were really neat. When children grow up loving animals and learning about them, they tend to want to protect them when they grow up, so that's really, I think, the primary reason for zoos.
On the other hand, I got the feeling that many of the cages and enclosures were too small and not close enough to the animals' natural ecosystem. A couple of the animals showed signs of stress, I thought (though admittedly I don't know a lot about such signs), such as the brown bear who kept obsessively pacing back and forth along one small stretch of fence and the porcupine who had a big bald patch on his back. The caribou did not have any grass left growing in their enclosure. I realize it takes a LOT of money to run a zoo well, and there were many opportunities throughout the park for folks to contribute as much or as little as they wanted. This is great! I hope people will continue to contribute and help this zoo improve and grow. What a great resource and learning opportunity!

Introduction Gena

Oyungerel DugersurenI came from Mongolia in Center Asia. I have been studying PWSCC since on September 2006. I have learned a variety field of knowledge including software, English, and Yoga. Living the foreign country has a lots of experience especially learning the different culture, dressing, human behavior all of these require a lot of patient and goal. Living and learning foreign country is wonderful venture of my recent life.

Greetings!

I’m Isaiah W. Edwards. I’m 20 years old and I’m from Oakland, CA. A year or two ago, I never thought I’d be here in Alaska of all places, (I always knew I wanted to visit, but I never thought I’d get the chance to live here). Now, after changing colleges, here I am. So far I love it. People told me about this Natural History course, and I see it as an organized way to explore parts of the area and Alaska. An unorganized way would be me trying to figure out where to go, how to get there, and when to go, all on my own. I came in January, which I got a chance to experience a part of winter up here. The snow has melted now, and the ‘nature walks’ are blossoming with shrubs and leaves. It’s very beautiful. I’ve also gotten to see that Alaska has some of the BIGGEST mosquitoes I’ve seen. They out do California’s mosquitoes that seem to bite in the night, Arizona’s mosquitoes that travel and attack in packs, and Georgia’s large-24-hour-bite-more-on-the-hottest-days-ever mosquitoes

I’m looking forward to this class!

P.S. “Cold-blooded” is a universal adjective I’ve used for 2 years (after watching a Chappelle’s Show skit). It can be bad or good, depending on how I say it…

Hello!!

Emmanuel Nfonoyim are my names I’m 26 years old. I came from Africa precisely Cameroon which is found in West Africa around the equator. I’m a student of Prince William Sound Community College, studying the Natural History of Alaska. I choose to take this class becuz I’m kind of thirst to acquire knowledge.
I leave presently with a friend but for the most part, I leave at the dorms when school starts.
My main aim here is to grab as more information as possible about nature and its creation, I will be amaze to know that there is more outside than we think it is.
At the moment, I don’t have enough experience but I believe as the days runs by, with my thirst for knowledge, I will gain lots of experience.

Oyungerel Dugersuren
I came from Mongolia in Center Asia. I have been studying PWSCC since on September 2006. I have learned a variety field of knowledge including software, English, and Yoga. Living the foreign country has a lots of experience especially learning the different culture, dressing, human behavior all of these require a lot of patient and goal. Living and learning foreign country is wonderful venture of my recent life.

Wendy Goldstein

Hi! My name is Wendy Goldstein, and I live in Valdez, Alaska. I moved here about 3 years ago from Connecticut. I work at Prince William Sound Community College in the Campus Shoppe and the Maxine & Jesse Whitney Museum. I live with my husband, Andrew, my son, Henry, aged 1 ½, and our two dogs, Jemma and Fred.
So far, I adore Alaska. I am taking this class because I want to learn about the plants and animals of this great state. They are so much different than I am used to. For example, I miss crickets, lightening bugs, good loud thunderstorms, and the sounds of heat “heat bugs”, in other words, cicadas. However, there are so many amazing animals here that it makes up for it.
I grew up a child of the 70s, going to the Barnes Nature Center in the summer, and walking in the woods with my dad, learning about the trees, plants, animals, and birds in Connecticut. It was a magical upbringing, which taught me to observe and appreciate Nature.
Now that I live in Alaska, I feel lost without the knowledge of my surroundings that I am used to. I need to know more about Alaskan natural history for my own self as well as for my son. He will have a magical upbringing as well- an inate talent for observation and appreciation of Nature. That is my goal.