The
Perito Moreno Glacier is a glacier located in
the Los Glaciares National Park in southwest Santa Cruz
Province, Argentina. It is one of the most important tourist attractions in the
Argentinian Patagonia.
The 250 km 2 (97 sq. mi) ice
formation, 30 km (19 mi) in length, is one of 48 glaciers fed by
the Southern Patagonian Ice Field located in the Andes system
shared with Chile. This ice field is the world's third largest reserve of fresh
water.
The
glacier advances between June and December and recedes
between December and April. The formation of an ice barrier is a complex
process, since there is a feedback mechanism between the glacier and the lake,
which affects the oscillations of the position of the glacial front in a fairly
stable way.
Different behaviors have been observed during the
filling and in the processes of discharge of the water, which have been
classified into three types: sudden, progressive and minor burst. In a sudden
type event, the maximum discharge can reach 8000 m³ per second, while a smaller
event only evacuates 123 m³.
The
Perito Moreno Glacier, located 78 kilometres (48 mi)
from El Calafate, was named after the explorer Francisco Moreno, a
pioneer who studied the region in the 19th century and played a major role in
defending the territory of Argentina in the conflict surrounding the
international border dispute with Chile.
