Holkham Bay facts for kids
Holkham Bay, also known as Sumdum Bay, is a beautiful bay located in Alaska. It is famous for a stunning area called the Tracy Arm, which is a narrow fjord with tall cliffs and glaciers.
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What is Holkham Bay?
Holkham Bay is a large inlet of the sea found in the southeastern part of Alaska. It is part of the Inside Passage, a network of waterways that winds through islands and fjords. The bay is surrounded by rugged mountains and forests. It is a natural wonder, known for its amazing scenery and wildlife.
Exploring Tracy Arm
One of the most special parts of Holkham Bay is the Tracy Arm. This is a long, narrow fjord that stretches inland from the bay. Fjords are deep, narrow valleys carved by glaciers, and they are often filled with seawater. Tracy Arm is famous for its towering granite cliffs, which rise thousands of feet from the water.
At the end of Tracy Arm, you can find two active glaciers: the Sawyer Glacier and the South Sawyer Glacier. These glaciers often "calve," which means large chunks of ice break off and fall into the water, creating small icebergs. This is a spectacular sight to see!
A Look at Mining History
For many years, Holkham Bay was an important place for mining. People came here to dig for gold. The gold was found in special rocks called quartz veins, which were inside black rocks known as graphite slate.
The Gold Mines
Several mines operated in the area around Holkham Bay.
- The Sumdum Mine was located about 2.5 miles south of a place called Sanford Cove.
- The Sumdum Chief and Bald Eagle Mines were on two ledges. Miners dug very deep into these ledges, hundreds of feet below the surface.
Mining Equipment
To get the gold out, miners used special equipment. This included:
- A 10-stamp mill: This machine used heavy stamps to crush the rocks and release the gold.
- Frue Vanners: These were machines that helped separate the gold from the crushed rock using water.
- Pelton wheels: These were water wheels that provided power for the mining operations.
- A wagon road and a short tramway: These were used to transport materials and ore.
- A wharf: This was a dock where boats could load and unload supplies and gold.
Different Types of Gold Ore
Another group, called the Portland Group, also mined gold in the area. They found gold in a different type of rock called schist. This schist rock contained gold along with other minerals like pyrite (also known as "fool's gold"), galena, and sphalerite. These minerals often appear together in ore deposits.
