Set aside in 1978, Misty Fjords National Monument is the United States' second largest wilderness area. Part of the Tongass National Forest, this area was described by naturalist John Muir in 1879 as "hopelessly, overabundantly beautiful for description." Misty Fjords contains 2.3 million acres. It boasts 3,000-foot sheer granite walls that rise from steep, amazingly deep fjords. Thousand-foot waterfalls crash down into lush, narrow valleys.