Landmark· Endicott Arm· Alaska Southeast — Juneau, Endicott Arm & Icy Strait
Fords Terror Narrows and Inner Basin
57° 40.0′ N · 133° 9.5′ W
Fords Terror is a narrow side fjord off Endicott Arm, a basin ringed by 2,000-3,000 ft cliffs with waterfalls. The entrance narrows turn into standing waves and whitewater when the tide runs and are safe to pass only near slack water; aim for high-water slack.
Practical
Coordinate is the USGS place-name (GNIS) position, via OSM. TIMING: expedition logs agree the entrance is passable only near slack; sources differ on which slack. One PassageMaker account judged high-water slack safer for its boat; another account in the same story ran through at low-water slack with powerful engines, so treat the high-slack advice as prudence, not a rule. The approach is a dogleg that was hard to identify at low tide, and one cruising crew photographed uncharted shoals on either side. One expedition itinerary logged a slack window of about 11:45 am to 2:00 pm; slack times change daily, so read the NOAA tide and current predictions, and note that SailSpo could not confirm a NOAA current-prediction station for the narrows (unconfirmed). For a charter boat the safe choice is to anchor outside and explore by dinghy at slack; do not enter on the ebb.
Best for
A fjord inside a fjord, by skiff at slack water only
Season
Late spring to early autumn
Nearby
- Fords Terror Outer Anchorage (Endicott Arm)3.6 NM away
- Endicott Arm (to Dawes Glacier)4.1 NM away
- Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness6.9 NM away
- Dawes Glacier (Head of Endicott Arm)13.7 NM away
- Sawyer Glaciers (Head of Tracy Arm)14.4 NM away
- Holkham Bay (Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm Entrance)15.7 NM away
- Lower Tracy Arm16.6 NM away
- Tracy Arm Cove (Holkham Bay)18.4 NM away
Place data includes © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).