The Gulf of Alaska is called the Gulf of Alaska in English and just as the name suggests, this is a bay with a coast to Alaska in the United States. As part of the Pacific Oceanthis bay is defined by the southern coast of Alaska, which stretches from the Alaska Peninsula. Kodiak Island is to the west and Alexander Archipelago to the east. The Alexander Archipelago includes Glacier Bay and Inside Passage. Along the coast to the Gulf of Alaska, there are mountains with forests and even glaciers whose meltwater flows into the bay. In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about the natural phenomenon discovered in the bay that gives the impression that two oceans meet but do not mix with each other. From a purely scientific point of view, this is water that is certainly mixed but which on the surface gives the impression of not doing so. Pictures of this phenomenon are spectacular to say the least and something to marvel at.
More about the Gulf of Alaska
The Gulf of Alaska has an ecosystem that is classified as Class 1. This means that it is very productive. In the bay, there are plenty of corals that thrive in deep water. Corals can be found at a depth of 150 meters as well as at a depth of 900 meters in this part of the sea. There are frequent storms in the Gulf of Alaska and many of the storms move along the coast to the south. On the way, they gather power and when they then pull in over the US, they can be really dangerous. A very large part of the precipitation that falls over the southwestern United States comes from the Gulf of Alaska.
There are plenty of animal species in the water and here the killer whale should be mentioned. The killer whales live in groups in the bay and you can go out with boats to see them. This should of course be done together with experts as these are wild animals that must be treated with respect and care.
The place where two oceans meet
You may have already seen pictures from the Gulf of Alaska where it looks like two different waters meet without mixing. One side is dark blue and the other turquoise brownish. The dividing line has a kind of foam and moves in waves. It really looks like two different seas meet without mixing. Now, of course, it is not about two different seas at all, we are still in the same bay that is part of the Pacific Ocean! What causes this violent phenomenon is the supply of water from glaciers which, thanks to current vortices in the bay, is carried out into the bay and creates a situation where different densities occur in the water masses. This means that you get a certain dividing line where it becomes more difficult for the water to mix. The currents that move out towards the Gulf of Alaska bring with them a lot of sediment from the glaciers, and the clay and sediment give a different color. In the sediment there is also iron. Thanks to the currents that carry the water masses from the glaciers to the east and west, iron is carried out to parts of the bay that are poor in iron. It is also this process that leads to the water masses having a different color and giving the impression of being two completely different parts of the sea.
