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Aletsch Glacier, the largest glacier in the Alps, covers more than 120 square kilometres (more than 45 square miles) in southern Switzerland. It descends round the south of the Jungfrau into the valley of the Upper Rhône; at its eastern extremity lies a glacier lake, Lake Märjelen (Gr. Märjelensee) (2,350 meters/7,711 feet above sea level). To the west rises Aletschhorn (4,195 meters/13,763 feet), which was first climbed in 1859. The Rhône River flows along the southern flank of the mountains. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 2405 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Aletsch Glacier User:DBeyer/Pictures ...
ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2048x1536, 2405 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Aletsch Glacier User:DBeyer/Pictures ...
Image File history File links Aletschgletscher_Panorama. ...
Image File history File links Aletschgletscher_Panorama. ...
A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ...
The West face of the Petit Dru above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace. ...
The Aletschhorn is a 4192 m high, glaciated mountain peak in the Swiss canton of Valais of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn region, which has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. ...
1859 (MDCCCLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar). ...
Starry Night Over the Rhone, by Vincent van Gogh (1888) The River Rhône (French Rhône, Occitan Ròse, Franco-Provençal Roun, standard German Rhone, Valais German Rotten, Italian Rodano) is one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. ...
Description
The origin point of the great Aletsch Glacier lies situated in the 4,000 m high Jungfrau-Region. At the Konkordiaplatz, a six km², slightly inclined iceflow, three large Firn (snow) fields come together: The Jungfrau (German: virgin) is the highest peak of a mountain massif of the same name, located in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, overlooking Grindelwald. ...
Looking down on the Konkordiaplatz from the Jungfraujoch; the Aletsch Glacier turns to the right in the distance. ...
Firn is partially-compacted névé, a type of snow that has been left over from past seasons and has been recrystallized into a substance denser than névé. It is ice that is at an intermediate stage between snow and glacial ice. ...
- From the western mouth flows the Great Aletschfirn, which runs along the northern foot of the Aletschorn and Dreieckhorn. The Aletschfirn is supplied from the north by three notable firns: the Ebnefluhfirn, the Gletscherhornfirn, and the Kranzberfirn. All of these Firns have their starting points at around 3800 m. From the Ebnefluhfirns to the Konkordiaplatz, the Aletschfirn is 9 km long and is on average about 1.5 km wide. From the west, the Aletschfirn flows over the 3173 m high Gletscherpass, the "Lötschenlücke", connecting with the Langgletscher, and then into the Lötschental valley.
- From the northwestern mouth flows the Jungfraufirn. This firn in fact represents the straight continuation of the Aletsch Glacier, yet is the shortest of the three tributary glaciers. It has its origin on the southern flank of the Mönch, at the Jungfraujoch and at the eastern flank of the Jungfrau. Up to the Konkordiaplatz, the Jungfraufirn is a scarce 7 km long, and returns to flank the Kranzberg in the west and the Trugberg in the east. At its highest point, it is 2 km wide, and further down it is still a good 1 km wide.
- From the northern mouth flows the Ewigschneefeld (Eternal snow field), where its starting point takes the east flank of the Mönchs. In an elbow, it flanks from Trugberg in the west and the Fiescherhorn and Grünhorn in the east, flowing on to the Konkordiaplatz. Up to here, it is about 8 km long and averages about 1.2 km wide. The mouth at the Konkordplatz it follows over a rise with a descent from 25 to 30 percent; here, the glacier is sharply split. Against the north is the Ewigschneefeld over the snow-covered pass of the Lower Mönchsjochs (3529 m high), connected with the catchment area of the Lower Grindelwald glacier. Through the Higher Mönchsjoch (3627 m high) between the Mönch and the Trugberg stands a connection to the Jungfraufirn.
Also at the mouth of the Konkordiaplatz from the east is the small but important Grüneggfirn (3 km long and averaging 600 m wide). This firn is connected in the over the glacier pass Grünhornlücke (3280 m high) to the Fiescher Glacier in the east. View of Lötschental The Lötschental is the largest northern side valley of Rhône valley in the Valais in Switzerland. ...
The Mönch (German: monk) is a mountain in the Swiss Alps. ...
Fiescherhorn is a name given to three mountains in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps. ...
The Grünhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps range of the Swiss Alps with a height exceeding 4,000 metres. ...
From the Konkordiaplatz, the Aletsch Glacier has a width of approximately 1.5 km and moves at a rate of 180 m per year to the southeast on course with the Rhône valley, bordering the Dreieckhorn in the west and the great Wannenhorn in the east. It then takes a great right turn and bends ever closer to the southwest, running through the edge of the Eggishorn and Bettmerhorn of the Rhone valley. The lowest part of the great Aletsch Glacier is largely covered with detritus of the lateral and medial moraines. The glacier's toe currently lies about 1560 m high, far beneath the local tree line. From it springs the Massa stream, which flows though the Massa Canyon and is used to generate hydroelectric power. It continues through the upper half of the Brig, eventually entering into the Rhone. Starry Night Over the Rhone, by Vincent van Gogh (1888) The River Rhône (French Rhône, Occitan Ròse, Franco-Provençal Roun, standard German Rhone, Valais German Rotten, Italian Rodano) is one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France. ...
Moraine at Mono Lake, California, United States Moraines clearly seen on a side glacier of the Gorner Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland. ...
Brig (in French Brigue) is a city in the canton of Valais, Switzerland at 46°19′ N 7°58′ E. The historic town with 5000 inhabitants is part of the municipality Brig-Glis with a 11600 inhabitants. ...
The great Aletsch Glacier shows considerable ice cover. At the Konkordiaplatz, it has an ice cover of more than 900 m, but as it moves to the south, the greater part of the ice melts, gradually decreasing the cover to around 150 m.
The characteristically dark medial moraine, situated almost in the middle of the glacier, runs protracted in two bands from the Konkordiaplatz along the whole length to the glacier's toe-zone. This medial moraine is collected from the ice of three large ice fields, which all run together. The westernmost medial moraine has been named the Kranzbergmoräne, and the easternmost carries the name Trugbergmoräne.
Recent retreat Only slight retreat and some thinning are evident over this short repeat photo interval, but records show a major longer-term retreat trend [1][2].
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (992x654, 1037 KB) Aletsch Glacier (Grosser_Aletschgletscher), Switzerland; the largest glacier in the European Alps. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (992x654, 1037 KB) Aletsch Glacier (Grosser_Aletschgletscher), Switzerland; the largest glacier in the European Alps. ...
Grinnell Glacier in Glacier National Park (US) showing recession since 1850 of 1. ...
External links Berne | Convent of St. Gall | Convent of St. Johann | Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn | Monte San Giorgio | Three Castles, Defensive Wall and Ramparts of Bellinzone Image File history File links Flag_of_Switzerland. ...
Elabana Falls is in Lamington National Park, part of the Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves World Heritage site in Queensland, Australia. ...
Location within Switzerland The city of Berne (German , French Berne , Italian Berna , Romansh Berna , Bernese German Bärn ), is the Bundesstadt (administrative capital) of Switzerland and the fourth most populous Swiss city (after Zürich, Geneva and Basel). ...
Abbey of St. ...
Monastery of Saint John at Müstair The Convent of Saint John is an ancient Benedictine monastery in Müstair, Switzerland and, by reason of its exceptionally well-preserved heritage of Carolingian art, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. ...
The Jungfrau (German: virgin) is the highest peak of a mountain massif of the same name, located in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, overlooking Grindelwald. ...
The Bietschhorn (the king of the Valais) is one of the highest montains in the Bernese Alps. ...
Location within Switzerland Bellinzona is the capital city of canton Ticino in Switzerland. ...
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