208 77/c/ Ann rtcdii (i< itjixl'ixf , ( tctober, 1891 
servatioiis me out of tin- iiiu'stion. It is bcru'vcil that more gen- 
aral ones nri' of siillu-uMit interest to Uc woitliy of icconl. 
DKSfKlI'TlON OK THE RK(ilO.\. 
(ilacit'i- hay is a narrow arm of the sea abont thirty mill's long 
and live to eiglit miles wicU- projecting northwestwardly from Cross 
sonnd. Between it and the Pacific lies a rather narrow peninsnla 
occnpied by the Fairweather range of monntains, and two minor 
ranges west of it. East of the l»ay is aiiotliei- narrow and 
monntainous peninsula se})arating it from Lynn canal. Near its 
head it bifurcates into l)ay (J lacier })roper and Mnir inlet, the lat- 
ter projecting fiom the main 1)ay in a northerly direction. It is 
from three to four miles long and from one to two miles wide. 
Into its head Muir glacier advances. The mountains adjoining the 
bay are mainly low, nnmded spurs rarely exceeding 3,000 feet in 
liight, but present occasional sharp peaks rising from 5,000 to 
(>, 000 feet above tide. Their northern slopes are often permanently 
snow-clad, but southern exposures are entirely free from snow- 
in summer, and gay with a profusi<ni of flowers. To an oliserver 
on one of the spurs on the eastern side of Mnir inlet a spectacle 
of unparalleled grandeur is presented. To the west across 
Glacier bay rise two low ranges of mountains and lieyond loom 
np the giants of the Fairweather range, beautiful wdiite, snow- 
clad peaks. To the east and northeast are the AVhite mountains 
lying between n lacier l)ay and Lynn canal. To the north and 
northwest the whole of the vast amphitheatre occupied by Muir 
glacier lies before the eye, with its encircling mountains, and the 
larger numl)er of the many valley glaciers that pour their ice into 
this amphitheatre. The great branches that come in from the north- 
west may l»e followed 1)y the i\ve for great distances. As the ice 
in the amphitheatre advances toward ]Mnir inlet it becomes con- 
fined within mirrow limits. The amphitheatre has a l)readth of 
from twelve to fifteen miles or more. In order to reach the inlet 
the ice occupying it is forced through a mountain gap less than 
three miles wide. At the present time the ice front barely reaches 
the narrowest iiortion of this gap. The waters of Muir inlet do 
not wash the l)ases of the mountains. A (U'posit of sand and 
gravel with a width of from one-half tt) tliree-fourths of a mile 
lies between the two on t>acli side of the inlet. As a result only 
the central portion of the glacier terminates in the water. This 
central portion is tremendously crevassed and broken. On each 
