Geikie Inlet

Geikie Inlet, looking east toward its meeting with Glacier Bay.

NPS Photo / C. Murdoch

Quick Facts

Location:

58.63656148303479, -136.40646190489701

Geikie Inlet was named for the Geikie glacier, which once filled the inlet. The glacier was named in 1879 by John Muir for James Geikie, 1839-1915, British geologist. Geikie was born in Scotland and joined the Geological Survey in 1861. In 1882 he became professor of geology and mineralogy at Edinburgh University He was the author of "The Great Ice Age" and other geological publications. When H. F. Reid visited Glacier Bay in 1892 he found that the Geikie Glacier of John Muir had retreated so far that it had become two smaller glaciers. He retained the name "Geikie" for the more northerly of the two, and called the other "Wood Glacier". Wood Glacier has now disappeared.
Source: USGS Dictionary of Alaska place names (https://doi.org/10.3133/pp567)