the muskegs of Southeast Alaska

One of the first things you notice as a hiker in southeast Alaska is that there is more to a rain forest than just plants. Take Gravina Island by Ketchikan for example. Gravina Island is the island opposite Ketchikan. You can see it when you enter or leave Ketchikan. It’s the island where the airport is located. Actually, the airport is the only thing that is located on the island. That's really it....outside the airport, you're on your own

The forest there is nearly broken up everywhere by open, sunny, soggy, boot-sucking muskegs. The word muskeg isn’t an official word I believe, but it’s what most people call these landscapes of small ponds with floating lilies and deep blankets of mosses.



Muskegs are marginal because they are sopping wet, acidic and nutrient-poor. They’ve build up over thousands of years on top of thick layers of silt left behind when the mantle of ice retreated from southeast Alaska after the last great glaciation. Muskegs, however, are full of animal life. They are havens for beetles, dragonflies, water striders and yes … mosquitoes. Observing the muskegs of Ketchikan makes you realize why they call Alaska sacred.

Then you turn around and you’re in the middle of the rain forest again, surrounded by its mystique.

By Bert van Mackelenbergh
Hotel Manager for Holland America Line

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