Lituya Bay
In 1958 an earthquake of 7.9 magnitude triggered a tsunami19 total reviews
Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill
More informational stories. I had never heard of Lituya Bay. Now, i have. It never fails to amaze me how whenever some one comes across land, seas, or objects, they did not know about, they claim a discovery, while looking right at indegenous people!
Karen
reply by the author on 18-Oct-2024
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More informational stories. I had never heard of Lituya Bay. Now, i have. It never fails to amaze me how whenever some one comes across land, seas, or objects, they did not know about, they claim a discovery, while looking right at indegenous people!
Karen
Comment Written 17-Oct-2024
reply by the author on 18-Oct-2024
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HI Karen,
I wish I could have traveled up to Lituya Bay. It's a long haul up the outside coast, about half way up to Yakutat. Everyone who's been there has said that it's breathtaking, even after the tsunami. It's a good anchorage once you're in the bay, but the currents are so strong that one can only enter the bay on the incoming tide, and then you have to line up some markers to stay off the rocks. Thanks for the delightful review gal.
Blessings,
Tom
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Go in a helicopter. Then land.
Could you do that? Karen
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Hi Karen,
I suppose I could charter a helicopter, but that would mean I couldn't go fishing, except from shore. The expense would be astronomical too. Plus, I don't live in Southeast anymore, so I'd have to fly down to Juneau and try to charter a copter. I think it would be more than I could justify spending.
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Put it on your bucket list. :-)
When hollywood discovers me and buys some of my stuff, I will come visit my kiddo, and we can all go to Litya. I could rent a small plane, if there is a spot to land at. :-)
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
This is a very interesting account of the megatsunami. Did that happen just this past July? I found the history interesting and the details of the tsunami amazing. I especially liked your last line.
reply by the author on 19-Oct-2022
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This is a very interesting account of the megatsunami. Did that happen just this past July? I found the history interesting and the details of the tsunami amazing. I especially liked your last line.
Comment Written 19-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 19-Oct-2022
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Hello Carol,
No, this happened in 1958. The affects of the tsunami are still evident in the bay. The land was scoured from the beach to 700 feet up all around the bay with the exception of where the wave struck in front of the rockslide, where it took out everything to 1720 feet. Pretty devastating. Thanks so much for the great review.
Have a blessed evening gal.
Tom
Comment from Brett Matthew West
"Fan Story" should be FanStory.
If the experts say not to enter on the ebb tide would probably be wise to listen to them.
The forces of nature should not be tampered with.
Might be an enjoyable book to read.
Alaska, being on my bucket list of places I still want to venture to some day, is fascinating.
reply by the author on 18-Oct-2022
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"Fan Story" should be FanStory.
If the experts say not to enter on the ebb tide would probably be wise to listen to them.
The forces of nature should not be tampered with.
Might be an enjoyable book to read.
Alaska, being on my bucket list of places I still want to venture to some day, is fascinating.
Comment Written 18-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 18-Oct-2022
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Hello Brett,
Thanks for the excellent review and comments. Yes, it's usually a good idea to listen to the old timers who've been around the block a few times. Most people who live outside of the state have no idea just how wild things can be here. Between moose walking out in front of cars, bears traveling around inside city limits looking for food and the weather that is constantly changing due in part to the landscape, it can catch you unawares if you're not careful.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from MissMerri
I can never adequately express how much I enjoy your stories about Alaska. This one was especially interesting. You mentioned the Tlingit people, which I have read about in the writings of Alaskastory, and find their history fascinating. You always post writing that has been carefully edited and beautifully presented. I greatly appreciate that as well. This was well written and extremely interesting. Thanks for the chance to learn more about this distant state.
reply by the author on 17-Oct-2022
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I can never adequately express how much I enjoy your stories about Alaska. This one was especially interesting. You mentioned the Tlingit people, which I have read about in the writings of Alaskastory, and find their history fascinating. You always post writing that has been carefully edited and beautifully presented. I greatly appreciate that as well. This was well written and extremely interesting. Thanks for the chance to learn more about this distant state.
Comment Written 16-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 17-Oct-2022
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Hello Adonna,
Thanks so very much for the wonderful review and comments. The Tlingit in Hoonah were run out of Glacier Bay when the ice started to move down the bay. The tried settling in several different places in Icy Strait, at Village Point at Homeshore, and across the strait in Spasski Harbor, but eventually they settled in Port Frederick, which they called Brown Bear Bay. Rightfully so. There are a number of salmon streams in the area though and of course halibut and lots of clams and crabs and deer, so overall it proved to be an ideal place for them. Thanks again gal.
Have a blessed evening>
Tom
Comment from Jannypan (Jan)
You did a great job detailing this event, Tom. I enjoyed
reading it as I'd never heard of it before. You added great
details about the layout of the land that allowed readers
to see everything you mentioned. I did know about retreating
glaciers carving out the land. Your facts were well-organized
and read smoothly. The art choice worked perfectly.
Thanks for sharing, Jan
reply by the author on 15-Oct-2022
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You did a great job detailing this event, Tom. I enjoyed
reading it as I'd never heard of it before. You added great
details about the layout of the land that allowed readers
to see everything you mentioned. I did know about retreating
glaciers carving out the land. Your facts were well-organized
and read smoothly. The art choice worked perfectly.
Thanks for sharing, Jan
Comment Written 15-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 15-Oct-2022
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Thanks so much Jan for the glowing review and comments. So much of the area around Alaska, especially in Southeast, shows evidence of the work of the glaciers. Hoonah, where I spent many years, is only about twenty miles or so from Glacier Bay. Icy Strait, which is the body of water that one has to cross to go from Hoonah to Glacier Bay got its name because of all the ice bergs that calved and filled the strait. For my second book I had interviewed some of the old timers who used to fish. Several mentioned small bergs floating right up in front of town, so the town folks would go chip ice off it on low tide. There is a point on Lemiesure Island called Ice Berg Point. Apparently the bergs would stack up there on the smaller tides preventing boats from passing out to the ocean until the bigger tides came and washed them out. I regret never making the trip out to Lituya Bay, but the weather can get pretty gnarly, and there is no place to hide from it and that never appealed to me.
Have a blessed evening gal.
Tom
Comment from LJbutterfly
I have to admit, I was not aware of this event, and your descriptions were so detailed and vivid, I could feel an adrenaline rush. What does 90 million tons of rock sliding two thousand feet down a mountain even look like? I dare not imagine. I turned to YouTube and found videos and diagrams. This was a horrendous event and your post brought it to life. Well done
reply by the author on 15-Oct-2022
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I have to admit, I was not aware of this event, and your descriptions were so detailed and vivid, I could feel an adrenaline rush. What does 90 million tons of rock sliding two thousand feet down a mountain even look like? I dare not imagine. I turned to YouTube and found videos and diagrams. This was a horrendous event and your post brought it to life. Well done
Comment Written 15-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 15-Oct-2022
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Thanks so much LJ, for the wonderful review and comments. I'm pleased that you checked it out further. One of the three boats that was anchored in the bay when the event happened mentioned that he saw the top of the glacier at the head of the bay, something that is impossible normally where he was anchored at. I guess that had to do either with the size of the wave that lifted them high or the intensity of the earthquake raising the ground. While I regret never taking my boat up the coast that far, I'm glad that I wasn't around when the earthquake occurred.
Have a blessed evening.
Tom
Comment from Elizabeth Emerald
Brilliant narration in meticulous detail that captures the enormity of this event. As to your note that accounts of casualties differ--that's demoralizing in itself--so many uncounted deaths. Fine work.
reply by the author on 15-Oct-2022
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Brilliant narration in meticulous detail that captures the enormity of this event. As to your note that accounts of casualties differ--that's demoralizing in itself--so many uncounted deaths. Fine work.
Comment Written 14-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 15-Oct-2022
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Hello Liz,
thanks so much for the great review and comments. It's hard to imagine the incredible devastation that occurred. It's even harder to believe that several boats anchored in the bay survived. I read a little bit of one of the survivors account. He described being able to see a glacier that was normally hidden from sight, not because he was lifted on a huge wave, but because the land shifted momentarily by the size of the earthquake. Incredible. I really regret never making it up there, but I've never liked the weather on the outside coast and I don't have the intestinal fortitude to make myself do something that I view as potentially dangerous.
Have a blessed evening my friend.
Tom
Comment from royowen
Too many people in a land trying to possess their slice of beauty can spoil a land, I guess that's why you live there, plus it must be really cold in winter, a sort of land of the midnight sun in reverse, my daughter, son in law and grandson, went on a cruise there, plus a neighbour went on regular trips to Alaska. Beautifully written Tom, thanks for sharing, blessings Roy
reply by the author on 14-Oct-2022
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Too many people in a land trying to possess their slice of beauty can spoil a land, I guess that's why you live there, plus it must be really cold in winter, a sort of land of the midnight sun in reverse, my daughter, son in law and grandson, went on a cruise there, plus a neighbour went on regular trips to Alaska. Beautifully written Tom, thanks for sharing, blessings Roy
Comment Written 14-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 14-Oct-2022
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Hello Roy,
I agree with you. Of course Alaska is so massive that we could handle a lot more people than live here, I just don't want them to all live close to me. So much of the land here is uninhabitable unfortunately. Lots of mountains. It can be harsh here for sure. When we were looking to move a couple years ago, I looked at Idaho, which is much warmer and drier, but it turned out it was too warm and dry for my taste. I really didn't want to go north, believe it or not I don't like cold weather, but every place has it's good points and bad. We've had our first snow already, which I'm not thrilled about, but I don't have to work outside, so it's not all bad.
Thanks so much for the great review and comments.
Have a blessed evening.
Tom
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I like temperate, we?ve had a cold, wet winter, Australia has copped a dousing, even temperate Melbourne?s (4.5 million pop) been flooded, when that?s not happened for many, many years?if at all.
Comment from aryr
The picture was lovely, Tom, it was a beautiful picture of the coast line. What a devastating situation! From what I understand about water that would be a situation. Awww, now why won't you share? Just joking, I fully understand! It was so nice of you to share this tidbit. Blessings n Hugs!
reply by the author on 14-Oct-2022
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The picture was lovely, Tom, it was a beautiful picture of the coast line. What a devastating situation! From what I understand about water that would be a situation. Awww, now why won't you share? Just joking, I fully understand! It was so nice of you to share this tidbit. Blessings n Hugs!
Comment Written 14-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 14-Oct-2022
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Hello aryr,
Thanks so much for the fine review and comments. I do wish I'd bee able to download a picture of Lituya Bay from the air. It would enforce what I was sharing. It's hard for people who haven't experienced the outside coastline to understand just how raw and majestic it is. The mountains are very steep and avalanches are common. We do live in the ring of fire, that area of the Pacific that experiences a lot of volcanic activity, and with the volcanoes come earthquakes it seems. I'm glad I was around when the mountain came down.
Have a blessed day.
Tom
Comment from Susan Newell
Tom,
This is a fascinating account of what happened in Lituya Bay. Can climate change be blamed? :-) Nature has a way of humbling humanity, and marrying extreme danger with extreme beauty. The power of water in motion is truly incredible. A few nits are picked below.
Sue
In 1958 and earthquake of 7.9 magnitude triggered a tsunami -- silly typo ==> an
On July 9, at 10:15 PM, a magnitude 8.7 strike slip -- include 1958 here
wave wiped out trees up to 1720 feet. -- maybe clarify and emphasize by adding "above sea level"
Howard Urlich and his 7 year old son ==> seven-year-old
Walking Home, A Traveler in the Alaskan Wilderness, -- either italicize or put in quotes
my interest was re-kindled, ==> rekindled
reply by the author on 14-Oct-2022
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Tom,
This is a fascinating account of what happened in Lituya Bay. Can climate change be blamed? :-) Nature has a way of humbling humanity, and marrying extreme danger with extreme beauty. The power of water in motion is truly incredible. A few nits are picked below.
Sue
In 1958 and earthquake of 7.9 magnitude triggered a tsunami -- silly typo ==> an
On July 9, at 10:15 PM, a magnitude 8.7 strike slip -- include 1958 here
wave wiped out trees up to 1720 feet. -- maybe clarify and emphasize by adding "above sea level"
Howard Urlich and his 7 year old son ==> seven-year-old
Walking Home, A Traveler in the Alaskan Wilderness, -- either italicize or put in quotes
my interest was re-kindled, ==> rekindled
Comment Written 14-Oct-2022
reply by the author on 14-Oct-2022
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Hello Sue,
thanks so much for the great review and helpful comments. I'll go back and revise. Of course there was no mention of climate change when the earthquake happened. There is some volcanic activity here in Alaska and I often wonder how much dust and gases spew into the atmosphere and how it compares to driving our gas powered cars around. Of course no one wants to talk about that.
Have a blessed day gal.
Tom
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No one wants to talk about the fact that core samples show no relationship between CO2 and temperature. The whole thing is a lie designed to scare us into serfdom.
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I couldn't agree more Sue. I watched a documentary that a group of scientists who were Christian put out that dispelled the claims about global warming and comparing things like having cheap energy (before Biden) has allowed the west to prosper, while places like Africa suffer. There are a number of really evil people manipulating the masses and all they have to do is put a scare into the uninformed and it's accepted as the truth.
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Yup. And they become attack dogs calling people "deniers," stolen from the legitimate claim of Holocaust deniers. By using that expression people see an automatic link of "deniers" not accepting truth. More scientists are starting to speak up. Just like doctors re the Covid/vaccine lies. And we know who is the father of ALL lies.
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Ah, yes we do know, and he's had eons of time to perfect his strategies and hone his craft. As it says, the thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. What better way to get that ball rolling than to deceive people. Divide and conquer.
Blessings