Disenchantment Bay extends southwest for 16 km (10 mi) from the mouth of Russell Fiord

Russell Fiord

Russell Fjord is a fjord in the U.S. state of Alaska. It extends north to Disenchantment Bay, the terminus of Hubbard Glacier, at the head of Yakutat Bay. The fjord was named in 1906 by Marcus Baker of the U.S...

 to Point Latouche, at the head of Yakutat Bay

Yakutat Bay

Yakutat Bay is a 29-km-wide bay in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending southwest from Disenchantment Bay to the Gulf of Alaska. "Yakutat" is a Tlingit name reported as "Jacootat" and "Yacootat" by Yuri Lisianski in 1805....

 in Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

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Named "Puerto del Desengano", Spanish for "bay of disenchantment", by Alessandro Malaspina

Alessandro Malaspina

Alessandro Malaspina was an Italian nobleman who spent most of his life as a Spanish naval officer and explorer...

 in 1792, upon finding that the bay was not the entrance to the legendary Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage

The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...

. He sailed up the bay as far as Haenke Island

Haenke Island

Haenke Island is an island located in Disenchantment Bay in Alaska. It was named in 1791 by Alessandro Malaspina for Thaddäus Haenke, who was serving as botanist and naturalist with Malaspina's expedition. The island is part of Yakutat City and Borough....

, before discovering the passage blocked by ice.

During the earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

of September 10, 1899, parts of Disappointment bay were raised 47 feet 4 inches (14 metres). This is the greatest recorded vertical displacement by an earthquake.