Ice (Patagonia Part 3)

January 23, 2024

“Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there anymore, and therefore joy is not necessary; beauty alone reigns there, beyond all demands.”

• Anonymous

The weird thing is that it is still growing and advancing as much as 2-3 meters a day.  This is the Perito Moreno Glacier.   Most of the world’s glaciers are significantly retreating due to climate change.   But this one is growing. 

The reason is not easily seen at first.   There are things that affect glaciers other than temperature.  In this case it’s precipitation.   The snow fall in the Andes remains consistently heavy and this drives the great ice field forward.

The glacier is named after our friend the puma eaten Francisco Moreno.   It is the 4th largest glacier in the world, the largest is in Iceland.

It is huge.  The land area it covers is larger than Buenos Aires.

It is 3.1 miles wide.

It has an average height of 240 feet.

The total ice depth is 558 feet.

And it is made entirely of fresh water. In fact it is one of the largest collections of fresh water in the world.

It is famous not only for its great dimensions, but it is known for great ruptures, or calving, that occasionally block the entire channel.   We had the chance to see several small calving episodes while visiting.

It is the crown jewel of the Southern Patagonia Ice field that comprises over 49 other glaciers.  These great Ice sheets are responsible for the geography of the region and the amazing blue colored lakes we have seen here.

Today was our last day in this part of Patagonia.   In the coming days we will cross the border into Chile.