As the glaciers receded at the end of the ice age, the waters of the Prince William Sound filled the fjords created by the glaciers off the coast of Alaska. Countless bays and thousands of miles of coastline lie ready to be explored such as this beach pictured here. Temperate rain forests come right to the waters edge in many places. The cool, clear waters are quite important to the salmon, marine mammals, bears, otters and other species abundant in the area. Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.