Viedma Glacier

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Viedma Glacier is a large valley glacier at the southern tip of mainland South America. It is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, which covers about 13,000 square kilometers. The glacier flows into the western end of Lake Viedma in Argentina, and chunks of ice frequently break off and melt in the lake. The terminus is about 2 kilometers wide. The glacier sits near the Chile–Argentina border. In Argentina, it lies within Los Glaciares National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981; in Chile, part of the ice field lies in Bernardo O’Higgins National Park. The Southern Patagonian Ice Field has 48 outlet glaciers, each larger than 20 square kilometers. Along Viedma, dark debris-filled moraines run through the white ice, and crevasses form in the center where faster ice moves ahead of slower ice near the valley walls. On the southwest side, ice calving is visible as blocks fall into the lake, and the glacier ends at a cliff.