July 1, 2020 - Alaska - File 1958: When he first encountered Lituya Bay in 1786, the French explorer Jean-Franois de Galaup La Perouse was intrigued by an odd line in the forests that surrounded the narrow fjord in southeastern Alaska. It was as though the forests 'had been cut cleanly with a razor blade,' he noted in his log. It was the first clue that the seemingly placid, protected waters of the bay had a more destructive side. Another came when he dispatched three small boats to measure the depth of the water near the entrance of the bay. Despite the weather being calm, two of the three boats capsized after being drawn into roiling tidal currents that had been amplified by the fjord's narrow shape. Twenty-six men lost their lives, their remains never to be found. It was in their honor that the lone island in the bay was given the name Cenotaph, a Greek word meaning 'empty tomb.' (Credit Image: © NASA Earth/ZUMA Wire/ZUMAPRESS.com)