Patagonian Glaciers

I saw few in Patagonia, including the famous Grey Glacier, which looks like a huge field of ice stretching into nothingness. It had ridges and spikes, and parts of it were a beautiful deep blue shade, while others were more white in color.

Source: NSIDC. https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/glaciers/questions/what.html 

How did I feel when I saw it?:

I felt insignificant. I was blown away to be confronted with such a massive ice sheet. Even squinting my eyes, it was impossible to see the end. Out in the distance, the glacier disappeared into a white haze of either clouds or snow, or a mix of both. In front of me was a massive wall of ice cliffs. Granted we were still quite far from the front of the glacier, but even from far away you could sense the glacier’s power and size.

This feeling was reinforced again when Logan and I took a side hike to see another glacier on day three of our hike. It was rainy and overcast, almost eerie, and terribly cold. We were the only ones on the trail at that time. Then suddenly, in the silence between our footsteps, we heard a huge rumble that at first, sounded like thunder. We looked up quick enough to see ice and snow tumbling down the mountain in the distance. While the avalanche we witnessed was far away and looked small compared to the mountain behind it, the sound it produced was a humbling reminder of nature’s power.

Where does it live?:

Glaciers “live,” or are found, across all continents in the world, but 91% are located in Antarctica (USGS). In the Andes Mountains in the South of Chile, glaciers can be found all over the place because of the cold climate. There are two types of glaciers: alpine glaciers and ice sheets.

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