2012 Week #22

When I decided to take and post photos every week this year, I intentionally didn’t set any rules.  I never said I’d only pick my best photos.  Instead I have focused on my favorites or even most interesting.  This week I definitely choose photos I thought were interesting because of the story they tell.

To say the Wrangell Narrows near Petersburg, Alaska are narrow is a major understatement.  Large cruise ships can’t even travel the narrows because of the narrow passage and the shallow water.    In fact, they have to traverse open water to get around this area.  Even the Alaska Marine Highway System (Alaska Ferry) has to travel at specific times based on the tides.  Wikipedia has a great explanation of the Wrangell Narrows.

The first photo shows how close we came to a mini island/rock.  The second photo was taken from inside so I could show how close the buoys were on each side.  Notice also that they place a watchman on the bow to keep an eye on things.  As I mentioned, I loved Petersburg and the likely reason it remains so beautiful is the large cruise ships can’t make it through the narrows.

Wrangell Narrows

Wrangell Narrows Markers