Russell Fjord is a fjord

Fjord

Geologically, a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.-Formation:A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. Glacial melting is accompanied by rebound of Earth's crust as the ice...

 in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of 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...

. It extends north to Disenchantment Bay

Disenchantment Bay

Disenchantment Bay extends southwest for 16 km from the mouth of Russell Fiord to Point Latouche, at the head of Yakutat Bay in Alaska....

, the terminus of Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier

Hubbard Glacier is a glacier located in eastern Alaska and part of Canada.The longest source for Hubbard Glacier originates from its snout and is located at about at about , approximately west of Mt. Walsh with an altitude around . A shorter tributary glacier begins at the easternmost summit on...

, 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....

. The fjord was named in 1906 by Marcus Baker of the U.S. Geological Survey for explorer Israel Russell

Israel Russell

Israel Cook Russell, LL.D. was an American geologist and geographer who explored Alaska in the late 19th century. He was born at Garrattsville, New York, on the 10th of December 1852. He received B.S. and C.E...

, who discovered the estuary in 1891 while exploring the Yakutat region.

The United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 designated 348701 acres (1,411 km²) of the area as a protected wilderness in 1980 The Russell Fjord Wilderness is bordered by the Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness

Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness

Wrangell-Saint Elias Wilderness is a wilderness area in Alaska, United States. At , it is the largest designated U.S. Wilderness Area, and lies within Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest national park in the United States...

 to the northwest, and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

The opening into Disenchantment Bay

Disenchantment Bay

Disenchantment Bay extends southwest for 16 km from the mouth of Russell Fiord to Point Latouche, at the head of Yakutat Bay in Alaska....

was periodically blocked by the glacier and the Russell Fjord turned into a lake collecting freshwater run-off from the glacier. Most recently the entrance closed from May to October 1986, and again briefly in 2002.http://www.agu.org/pubs/crossref/2007/2006JF000475.shtml