.: The Glacier

PERITO MORENO GLACIER

The Perito Moreno Glacier is an ice mass in constant movement producing huge cracklings and clatters. The ice walls are located so near the corridors and viewpoints that visitors can experience the glacier at a really short distance.

Front height: between 40 and 70 meters over lake level.
Length: 30 kilometers.
Area: 257,258 square kilometers.

The rupture, one of Nature´s most breathtaking events:
Due to its stability and minor fluctuations, the Perito Moreno Glacier sometimes forms a natural dam which blocks the flow of water towards the `Canal de los Témpanos'. The Rico Arm rises it's level until the pressure of the water becomes very strong. At the same time the Ice weakens and becomes more fragile, and eventually the water finds a way to start leaking and forming a tunnel through the Ice.
When the Rupture begins there is no going back ,and huge amounts of ice will calve constantly as the tunnel grows and the water keeps flowing violently through it. The whole process might last 3 days but each time it has been different. The calving, the noise, the splash of water and the whole scenario provide one of Natures most astonishing events.

Perito Moreno Glacier - The Breaking, March 14, 2006 was the date of the breaking of the Perito Moreno Glacier, a unique phenomenon. This breaking occurs when the glacier advances over the opposite coast of Lake Argentino and forms a natural dam that raises the water level in the Rico arm of the lake. The resulting pressure breaks that end of the glacier in a spectacular way. The phenomenon was first registered in 1940 and has been repeated 15 times so far.