Tracy Arm Fjord (Usa) – Location, Geography & Facts

Tracy Arm Fjord is a fjord in the United States located in the coastal mountains of southeastern Alaska.

Tracy Arm Fjord, Usa.

Country: Usa
Coordinates: 57.9114° N, 133.4022° W

Tracy Arm Fjord overview

Tracy Arm Fjord is a fjord in the United States located in the coastal mountains of southeastern Alaska. The fjord lies within the federally designated Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness of Tongass National Forest and contains tidewater ice features including the Sawyer Glacier at its head. Tracy Arm Fjord is significant for its steep, glacially carved walls, an active tidewater glacier system, and its inclusion within a managed wilderness area administered by the U.S. Forest Service.

Tracy Arm Fjord coordinates

Tracy Arm Fjord is commonly mapped at approximately 57.9114° N, 133.4022° W, or 57.9114, -133.4022 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 57.9114° N, 133.4022° W

Decimal: 57.9114, -133.4022

Where Tracy Arm Fjord is located

Tracy Arm Fjord sits in the Alaska Panhandle on the inland side of the Alexander Archipelago, opening to the marine waters of Stephens Passage. It is positioned south of the city of Juneau and northeast of Admiralty Island in the network of channels that define southeastern Alaska’s coastal mainland. The fjord runs inland from the passage into the Coast Mountains and terminates near a tidewater glacier, forming a narrow inlet bounded by bedrock cliffs and valley shoulders that descend directly to the sea.

Why Tracy Arm Fjord is important

Tracy Arm Fjord is distinguished by the juxtaposition of a tidewater glacier and steep bedrock cliffs within a federally designated wilderness unit. The presence of the Sawyer Glacier at the fjord’s head creates an actively calving glacier-front environment that supplies icebergs and glacial flour to the channel. Its confined geometry and deep basin have made Tracy Arm Fjord a subject for studies of fjord circulation, sedimentation from glacial melt, and the interaction between tidewater glaciers and marine ecosystems. The combination of wilderness protection and glacial dynamics is uncommon among accessible Alaskan fjords.

History of Tracy Arm Fjord

Tracy Arm Fjord formed by repeated glacial advance and retreat during the late Quaternary, with valley glaciers carving a U-shaped cross section that later flooded as sea level rose. Indigenous Tlingit peoples historically used the broader region’s shorelines and channels for travel, seasonal fishing, and resource gathering, integrating the fjord into local maritime patterns. In the modern era, scientific mapping and natural-resource management practices recognized the fjord’s geological and ecological values, leading to its inclusion within a federal wilderness designation and the establishment of monitoring activities focused on glacier behavior and marine habitat changes.

Natural features of Tracy Arm Fjord

Tracy Arm Fjord exhibits a narrow, over-deepened channel flanked by steep, often sheer, bedrock walls derived from coastal mountain lithologies. The fjord’s floor contains a deep basin shaped by glacial scouring and subsequent marine infill of fine sediment from melting ice. At the fjord head, the Sawyer Glacier forms a tidewater terminus that calves ice into the basin and supplies suspended sediments that influence water clarity and benthic habitats. Visible geomorphic features include polished bedrock surfaces, hanging valleys, and morainal deposits at the glacier front.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Tracy Arm Fjord

Tracy Arm Fjord is managed as part of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness within Tongass National Forest, placing it under the stewardship of the U.S. Forest Service. Long-term management priorities for the fjord emphasize preservation of wilderness character, monitoring of tidewater glacier dynamics, and scientific study of fjord ecosystems and sedimentary processes. Federal and state agencies collaborate on baseline research, glacier-status reporting, and ecological surveys that inform adaptive management relating to marine mammals, fish habitat, and glacial retreat impacts.

Tracy Arm Fjord facts

Tracy Arm Fjord contains the Sawyer Glacier, a tidewater glacier that terminates directly within the fjord’s basin.
The fjord opens into Stephens Passage, a marine channel within the Alexander Archipelago of southeastern Alaska.
Tlingit maritime use historically connected local communities to the resources and passages surrounding Tracy Arm Fjord.
The fjord’s steep cliffs and glacially over-deepened basin result from multiple cycles of glacial carving during the late Quaternary.
Tracy Arm Fjord lies inside the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness, a federal wilderness unit managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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