Top of the Hill - Forest Loop Trail

Enjoy the lush forests of Glacier Bay

NPS Photo

You have just climbed up a pile of debris -- a "moraine" -- left by the glacier that carved out the bay. A glacier is like a giant bulldozer, moving a lot of rock and rubble before it and along its sides as it flows out of the mountains. The moraine at the very end of the glacier is the "terminal moraine" while those along the sides are called "lateral moraines." You are standing on a lateral moraine. Notice the trees get bigger as the walk continues. These trees are older than those on the beach, which are growing on land that has emerged relatively recently due to post-glacial rebound.