Argentina - Perito Moreno Glacier

The Perito Moreno Glacier (Glaciar Perito Moreno) was formed during the last ice age, which means it is about 18.000 years old. The glacier is located within the Los Glaciares National Park and is one of the 48 glaciers of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water. Perito Moreno ends in a fjord, where the ice is up to 60 or 70 metres above the level of Lago Argentino (two-thirds are still below the water level and cannot be seen) and it is 5 km wide.

Despite climate change Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers in the world that still grows, one or two metres a day. From time to time the glacier’s front ice tongue moves forward and joins the shore of Peninsula de Magallanes, creating a massive ice dam. This natural dam makes a part of Lago Argentino raise its level, causing a huge amount of pressure. Finally - this can takes some years - the water pressure is getting too high and the enormous wall of ice falls apart, causing one of the most overwhelming natural phenomenon that can be seen.
(It happened just a couple of months after our visit in 2005. The last rupture of Perito Moreno was in March 2018. You even can see the difference between the water level of the two parts of the lake.)

The glacier is named after Francisco Moreno, an Argentinean explorer who explored this area in the 19th century and managed to keep it out of Chilean hands. The Los Glaciares National Park, of which Perito Moreno Glacier is a part, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1981.

The glacier is accessible from El Calafate in Patagonia. Peninsula de Magallanes has several platforms, which make it possible to get close to the glacier. It is also possible to sail along the glacier by boat.