glacier, Argentina

Created in 1937, Los Glaciares National Park is located in Southern Patagonia, near the border with Chile. Declared by UNESCO a World Heritage site in 1981, the park contains 47 large glaciers that flow down slope from the Patagonic ice cap, the largest in the world after the Antarctic and Arctic ice caps,. With a frontal width of 3,5 miles (4 kilometers) and a height of 200 feet (60 meters) above the water, Perito Moreno extends for 32 miles (52 kilometers) and moves along one of the arms of Lake Argentino. Periodically, at the confluence of the two ramifications of the lake, the glacier interrupts the water’s flow. The growing pressure of the water against the ice barrier ends up breaking it, producing an explosion that can be heard several miles away. This phenomenon occurred sixteen times during the 20th century. In July 2008, an arch of ice of 200 feet (60 meters) of height and several thousand short tons collapsed. Due in large part to human activities, global warming melts ice and above all causes sea water to expand. Thus rising sea levels up to 50 centimeters before the end of the 21st century and flooding fertile and heavily populated costal areas.