Entrance – 58°36.46'N, 137°39.78'W [GPS WGS84 position]
Anchorage 1 – 58°37.30'N, 137°39.70'W [GPS WGS84 position]
Anchorage 2 – 58°38.85'N, 137°34.00'W [GPS WGS84 position]

"On the night of July 9, 1958 an earthquake along the Fairweather Fault in the Alaska Panhandle loosened about 40 million cubic yards (30.6 million cubic meters) of rock high above the northeastern shore of Lituya Bay. This mass of rock plunged from an altitude of approximately 3000 feet (914 meters) down into the waters of Gilbert Inlet. The impact generated a local tsunami that crashed against the southwest shoreline of Gilbert Inlet. The wave hit with such power that it swept completely over the spur of land that separates Gilbert Inlet from the main body of Lituya Bay. The wave then continued down the entire length of Lituya Bay, over La Chaussee Spit and into the Gulf of Alaska. The force of the wave removed all trees and vegetation from elevations as high as 1720 feet (524 meters) above sea level. Millions of trees were uprooted and swept away by the wave. This is the highest wave that has ever been known." - from the geology.com website.

It is worth making the effort to enter Lituya Bay. Remembering that the explorer La Perouse lost two boats here, entry should not be attempted against the ebb, when the current sets up standing breakers as it encounters the southerly swell. Identify Cormorant Rock, a large boulder on the east side of the Entrance, and approach it quite closely, when the lighted, red and white leading marks will become visible. The channel is only 50m wide, between boulders, so stay close to the leading line. The US Coast Pilot says that there are boulders and snags close to shore in Anchorage Cove, but there is a large area with a depth of 9 - 10 m with good holding, not far to port of the leading line. However, the southerly swell reaches this anchorage on the flood, and a more comfortable anchorage can be found to the NE of Cenotaph Island in 14m, with a good clean mud bottom. The shores in most of the rest of the bay are steep-to, and foul with rocks and snags.

As regards the Gilbert Inlet and Crillon Inlet, at the head of the bay, the chart and pilot are not up to date. Both inlets are now blocked off by terminal moraines, with the glaciers close up behind them. It is possible to anchor temporarily on the edge of the moraine, where the chart shows 120m of water!