Yesterday we looked at some other aspects of Argentina's Parque Nacional Los Glaciares (and the nearby town of El Calafate). Today, some pictures of ice.

Let's orient ourselves first, courtesy of some satellite imagery via Google Maps:

You can see the bright blue of Lago Argentino, including its southern arm, the Brazo Rico. Separating the Brazo Rico from the main part of the lake is the Magallanes Peninsula. And poking out from the white mass at left (the South Patagonian Ice Field) is a nice big valley glacier, the Perito Moreno Glacier. Notice how it pokes right into the Magallanes Peninsula, like a pin approaching a balloon. Occasionally, it surges forward and smooches the opposite shore, cutting the Brazo Rico off from the rest of the lake. When this happens, some spectacular collapses can occur.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is remarkably stable, due in part to its large catchment area and relatively narrow zone of ablation. This means that a bunch of park infrastructure has developed on the Magallanes Peninsula: viewing platforms and docks. The glacier moves forward at the same rate it loses ice through calving/melting: very consistent. We started off with the boat trip up to the glacier's terminus. Here's a view of the boat from above:


...And a view of the glacier's face from the boat:




Ice meets bedrock (plants watch warily):


Looking north from the viewing platform:












A little panorama (two shots spliced together):


So, at this point, I hope I have established that Perito Moreno Glacier is very accessible and very photogenic. It is also a lovely shade of blue. Thank you very much.

Labels: argentina, glaciation, patagonia, south america, travel