Even though Native Eskimos, Aleuts and Indians trace their Alaskan heritage back thousands of years, it was the Russians who spread their influence and spurred on the beginning of modern day cities in Alaska. Lured by furs and gold prospects, pioneering Russians gave their own names to rivers, towns, lakes and islands. Vitus Jonassen Bering, a Danish born sea captain who sailed under the Russian flag, is credited with major expeditions into the North Pacific. Bering died in December 1741 and was buried on Bering Island along with 28 more from his company.
   Pictured here is Disenchantment Bay which extends from Russell Fjord to Yakutat Bay. Oddly enough, the bay was not named by a Russian explorer, but a disenchanted Italian nobleman. Captain Alessandro Malaspina called the bay area Puerto del Desengano. Malaspina was searching for a passage to the Atlantic and found the bay blocked with ice. Today, it's feared that Hubbard Glacier, thickening and advancing forward, will close the Seward entrance of Russell Fjord (connected to Disenchantment Bay) and create the largest glacier dammed lake in North America.

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