Turnagain Arm Gulf of Alaska

Turnagain Arm in Seward Scenic Highway 

Turnagain Arm is a waterway into the northwestern part of the Gulf of Alaska. It is one of two narrow branches at the north end of Cook Inlet, the other being Knik Arm. Turnagain is subject to climate extremes and large tide ranges.

The Turnagain Arm is a special body of water. Housed between the Chugach Mountains and the Kenai Mountains, the inlet is home to the rare and ill-named bore tide. This fascinating phenomenon, where the incoming seawater forms a six to ten foot wall as it returns at high tide, only occurs before and after the extreme tidal conditions of the new or full moon.

The 45-minute drive from Anchorage to Girdwood along the Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet is one of the world's great drives, ranking right up there with Italy's Amalfi Drive and the highway along the Rhine south of Coblenz. The Seward Highway linking Anchorage and Seward is a National Forest Scenic Byway and one of 15 roads in the United States that has been designated as an "All-American Road."

From beginning to end there are dramatic views of mountain scenery and the inlet. Turnagain Arm's bore tide is the second highest in North America, second only to the tide in Canada's Bay of Fundy. Beluga Point, a few miles further along, offers dramatic views of the Inlet and owes its name to the beluga whales that can sometimes be sighted from there.

Beluga Point Alaska

Beluga Point Site is an archaeological location along Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet, near Seward Highway Milepost 110, south of Anchorage, in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1978.

Artifacts of the area are evidence of early human habitation. Beluga Point North 1 artifacts are 8,000–10,000 years old and believed to be evidence of the oldest habitation in Anchorage municipality. Various other artifacts at Beluga Point South 1 and 2 (BPS1 and BPS2) are believed to be 3,500 to 4,000 years old, while some newer ones are dated at 600 to 800 years old.

Beluga Point is also a wildlife viewing area under the jurisdiction of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Beluga whales can be sighted seasonally July through August as hundreds of the cetaceans visit Cook Inlet to feed on the Pacific salmon run.