THE AREA STUDIED 259 



(lers the western shore of the outer bay, being fed by numerous tribu.- 

 taries from mount Saint Elias and neighboring mountains. The outer 

 bay is V-shaped, narrowing toward its liead, wliere it enters between 

 mountain walls as a true fiord known as Disenchantment bay. The en- 

 tire inlet has the shape of a bent arm, the elbow being at the point where 

 the fiord reaches farthest into the mountains, the part beyond the elbow 

 extending back toward the ocean in a course roughly parallel to the outer 

 bay. The inlet above the elbow is called Eussell fiord. 



ISTear the shores of the fiord the mountains reach elevations of from 

 3,000 to 5,000 feet, but immediately back of these the Saint Elias chain 

 rises to elevations of from 10,000 to 19,000 feet. Situated on a wind- 

 ward coast, these lofty mountains induce heavy precipitation, and are 

 therefore deeply clothed with accumulations of snow at all elevations 

 above two or three thousand feet. It is this great accumulation of snow 

 which causes glaciers to descend nearly all the valleys. 



Previous Work 



In 1890 and 1891 Malaspina glacier was studied by Professor Eussell, 

 who crossed it along several lines, and from whose descriptions* we have 

 obtained most of our present knowledge of this interesting ice-sheet. 

 Professor Eussell has also briefly described the other glaciers of the Yaku- 

 tat Bay region. In 1897 both Prince Luigi, Duke of the Abruzzi, and 

 Mr H. C. Bryant crossed Malaspina glacier from outer Yakutat bay to 

 the mountain base.f As a member of the Harriman Alaska expedition 

 Dr G. K. Gilbert studied the glaciers of Yakutat bay in 1899, J and pre- 

 sented evidence that there had been general recession since the earlier 

 observations of Professor Eussell. The photographs and maps of the 

 Alaska Boundary Tribunal clearly show the condition of the glaciers in 

 1895. The studies of Tarr and Martin in 1905 prove that .the recession 

 of the glaciers continued up to that time.§ 



General Description of the Glaciers 

 malaspina glacier 



A number of large valley glaciers (see plate 7), descending from the 

 Saint Elias range, spread out at the mountain base to form the broad 



* National Geographic Magazine, vol. .3, 1891, pp. 53-203 : ISth Annual Report U. S. 

 Geological Survey, 1891-2, pt. 2, Geology, pp. 1-91. 



t Mr Bryant has published no description of his expedition ; but the results of the 

 Abruzzi expedition are described in a volume entitled "The ascent of mount Saint Elias, 

 narrated by Filippo de Filippi," 1900. 



t Harriman Alaska Expedition, vol. 3, "Glaciers and Glaciation," 1904, pp. 40-70. 



S Bull. American Geographical Society, vol. 38, 1906, pp. 145-167. 



