What a Big Hunk... of Ice!

After our wonderful hike in Torres del Paine, we crossed the border to the Argentinean side of Patagonia and went to El Calafate, which is a jumping off point for outdoor adventures for Glacier National Park. Just one hour from town is the Perito Moreno Glacier. When we got there the weather wasn't the best, to say the least! Here's a look:

Snow, wind, cold and Chad at Perito Moreno Glacier from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

Here's an panoramic video of the glacier (thank you, Wikipedia):


And a home video:

That's one big ice cube! Perito Moreno Glacier from Chad Carson on Vimeo.

This is a view of the glacier from the visitor's center:

(Many thanks to Wikipedia for the great photo!)The park is great because you can view the glacier from a peninsula opposite it on boardwalks that have benches to stop and watch.

The weather cleared up for a while and we were able to take some better photos.

Here's one side of the glacier, you can see a boat to give you a perspective how big the glacier is:

The glacier is huge- 19 miles long and averages 3 miles wide. It's almost 100 square miles in all, and it's also 558 feet deep!

Not only is it huge, but it's incredibly beautiful. Here's a close up of the glacier ice. Photos really don't do it justice. The variety and intensity of the shades of blue are breathtaking. Looking into the cracks of the glacier reminded me gazing into a campfire with its glowing colors at the heart.

Looking at the glacier is superb as it is, but another wonder is to see and hear it move. Most of the glaciers in Patagonia are receding, but this is one of 3 that's advancing. Perito Moreno is constantly moving and big chunks of the glacier calve into the Argentina River below, creating a loud thundering noise and huge waves.

Sometimes the glacier advances to the land and forms a dam. The pressure builds up and eventually breaks through. It ruptures every 4 to 5 years. We only saw pieces fall, but someone caught the rupture from 2006 on video:


Wow!

We didn't see any calving of that grandeur, but we did see quite a few chunks crash into the river in the 4 hours we were there.

Here's a picture of the same area from the video when we were there. It ruptured again last year, but you can see that the glacier has moved quite a bit since the was taken in 2006.

The word "awesome" is often overused but you can't help but feeling in awe watching the Perito Moreno glacier.