Rivers of Ice: The Yakutat Bay Expedition of 1906

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Description

In 1906 Cornell University Prof. Ralph S. Tarr, with the backing of america Geological Survey, led an expedition to Alaska’s Yakutat Bay region to conduct the first thorough mapping and measurements of the many glaciers surrounding the bay. The mountains surrounding Alaska’s Yakutat and Disenchantment Bays are one of the most heavily glaciated in the North The us and boast the continent’s largest piedmont and tidal glaciers. Drawing heavily on the journals, diaries and letters of three of the expedition’s participants, including the writer’s grandfather, Rivers of Ice describes the hardships, difficulties and disappointments of exploration in a barren land of ice, steadily in the words of the participants themselves. Great detail is given of the harsh conditions, ranging from nearly incessant rain, packing the many supplies up routes with out a trails to places no human had ever before set foot, and a harrowing rescue of Prof. Tarr from entombment under a glacier after falling into a swift glacial stream. Rivers of Ice shines a light on the different perceptions of the native Tlingit that inhabit Yakutat. Prof. Tarr exhibits a nineteenth century prejudice toward the Tlingit which is seen in counterpoint to that of one of his local guides, Bill Thompson, who had spent years living a few of the natives. It used to be Thompson’s objections to Tarr’s racism that in the end led to Thompson’s break with Tarr on the expedition’s conclusion. Rivers of Ice is liberally illustrated with photographs of the expedition and the village of Yakutat, taken by Bill Thompson and the expedition’s young photographer.

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