Perito Moreno Glacier
The Glacier is inside Perito Moreno National Park. It's nearly 5000 metres long and 60 metres high. Perito Moerno is the most famous of the 356 that belong to the Park. While the rest of the glaciers produce relatively small icebergs when ice breaks off the snout of the glaciers, the Perito Moreno offers an extraordinary phenomenon: huge pieces if ice falling from the glacier.
The breaking of the ice caps occurs constantly, falling violently over the water. The glacier reaches the Magellan Peninsula where it divides Lake Argentino in two. At the same time it blocks the Tempanos Channel creating a natural dike. The waters of the lake grow, eroding the block of ice. When the ice starts to melt, the water starts to filter until the ice falls noisily.
Los Glaciares National Park
Los Glaciares National Park was created in 1937. It covers 600.000 hectares and shelters 356 glaciers. It was declared World Heritage in 1981 wit the aim of protecting one of the main testimonies of the Quaternary Period, in which these huge white formations ruled the geography of the world.
The most important glaciers are the Perito Moreno Glacier, the Marconi Glacier, the Viedma Glacier, the Moyano Glacier, the Upsala Glacier, Agassiz Glacier, the Bolado Glacier, the Onelli Glacier, the Peineta Glacier, the Spegazzini Glacier, the Mayo Glacier, the Ameghino Glacier, the Moreno Glacier and the Frías Glacier. All these galciers belong to the Atlantic basin.
El Calafate
This town, located on the bay of Lake Argentino, is the door to enter the world of the glaciers. It takes its name from a small bush that grown in the Patagonia. It's the head of Los Glaciares National Park and was founded in 1927. During the last decades it has undergone a significant growth because of the large quantities of tourists that arrive to El Calafate every year.
It's an oasis of elm trees, willows and pine trees in the border of the patagonic steppe. The climate is quite dry, the maximum temperature range in summer is 19°C and the minimum temperature range in winter is -2°. The length of a day differs depending on the seasons, because in summer it dawns at 5:30 and night comes at 23:00 while in winter days are considerably shorter with only 8 hours of light.
There's a Paseo de Artesanias in the centre of the town where pieces of Argentinian and Latin American craftsmanship can be bought. It was created in October, 2000 and constructed with wood and stones typical of the region.
Lake Argentino
Lake Argentino is the deepest lake in Argentina and the third deepest lake in South America. It covers 1,600 km2, it is.60-km-long and 20-km-wide. It's waters are green because they contain a certain type of powder that comes from erosion of glacier rocks.
One of the main attractions is the Témpanos Channel, in front of the Perito Moreno Glacier, that is full of icebergs. It's divided in two: the North branch and the south branch. When you sail the lake from Puerto Bandera you meet the marvelous glaciers Upsala and Spegazzini, as well as big icebergs that usually try to block the way. Undoubtedly, it's an incredible view. As happens with the majority of the glaciers, the blocks of ice that fall on Lake Argentino are retreating. |
