Ketchikan and Misty Fjords

Today was our final port day. We visited Ketchikan which is considered Alaska’s first city. It about 40 miles from Misty Fjords National Monument which was one of our excursions today.

The national monument was originally proclaimed by President Carter in December 1978 as Misty Fiords National Monument. The Fjords are composed of light-colored granite, about 50 to 70 million years old. They have been sculpted by glaciers that gouged deep U-shaped troughs throughout the monument. Many of the glacial valleys are filled with sea water and are called “canals”, but they are not man-made in any way; the walls of these valleys are near-vertical and often rise 2,000 to 3,000 feet (600 to 900 m) above sea level, and drop 1,000 feet (300 m) below it. They are quite dramatic to look at.

We motored back to Ketchikan and took some time to explore the town on foot . Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic District. It is also considered the Salmon Capital of the World. It is named for Ketchikan Creek which runs through the center of town. Salmon travel up this creek to spawn and we were able to watch this happening. There were seals in the creek as well, enjoying salmon for lunch ! The area where the creek flows is aptly named “Creek Street” and is infamous for being the red light district in the first half of the twentieth century with brothels lining both sides of the creek.