When we arrived at the Calafate airport we thought that there would be nothing for miles; just like Bariloche. I wouldn’t call Calafate a city but I wouldn’t call it a ghost town like Bariloche airport seemed to be.
I thought the glaciers would be a mountain full of snow that moved slowly. The glacier actually turned out to be a huge block of ice stretching for miles and miles. All together we saw two glaciers. The first one, the Perito Moreno Glacier, is one of the last growing glaciers in Patagonia. The second one we saw, the Upsala Glacier, is the biggest in the area.
We learned a ton about glaciers. Here are some of the facts:
- A glacier moves slowly in the direction of a lake.
- 90% of the glacier is under water so you only see 10% of it.
- The more compact (and the less amount of air bubbles) the more blue the glacier looks.
- The blue color that we see is actually a reflection of light.
- Glaciers and pack ice contain approximately 75% of the world’s fresh water: more than all lakes and rivers, groundwater and water in the atmosphere, combined!
- Ten percent of the Earth’s land area is covered by glaciers.
- If all glaciers melted, sea level would rise about 230 feet.
When we were at the Perito Moreno Glacier, we saw a gigantic piece of the glacier fall off. It was incredible to be there and watch the pieces fall and hear all the noises of the ice hitting the water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wjrq4VSMSlY (14 seconds)
Hopefully, you can get a feel for how huge the glaciers are by these three pictures below. My Grandma and I are standing in the same spot for each picture and the glacier just keeps going and going.
We also went to Estancia Cristina during our glacier tour. I can't imagine living in the middle of nowhere like they did!
After hearing so much about glaciers, it was really cool to see them in person. Especially, with Weezie and Mike!
