Perito Moreno Glacier (Argentina) – Location, Geography, Facts

Covering roughly 250 square kilometres, Perito Moreno Glacier is an outlet of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in southwestern Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

Perito Moreno Glacier, Argentina.

Country: Argentina
Coordinates: 50.4932° S, 73.1280° W

Perito Moreno Glacier overview

Covering roughly 250 square kilometres, Perito Moreno Glacier is an outlet of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in southwestern Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Its front reaches Lake Argentino, spans about five kilometres, and exceeds 170 metres in thickness in places. The glacier’s stable to advancing behavior contrasts with the retreat of many nearby outlets, while its calving shapes local hydrology and landforms.

Perito Moreno Glacier coordinates

Perito Moreno Glacier is commonly mapped at approximately 50.4932° S, 73.1280° W, or -50.4932, -73.1280 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 50.4932° S, 73.1280° W

Decimal: -50.4932, -73.1280

Where Perito Moreno Glacier is located

Perito Moreno Glacier descends from the southern margin of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field to the Brazo Rico arm of Lake Argentino in southwestern Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Its approximate coordinates are 50°29′S, 73°05′W. Fjord-like lake channels and morainic deposits surround the terminus, while higher Andean peaks define the ice-field catchment.

Why Perito Moreno Glacier is important

Perito Moreno differs from many neighboring outlet glaciers in maintaining a stable to advancing mass balance. Its front can press against a moraine and dam Brazo Rico, raising the arm’s water level until the ice barrier ruptures. These recurring events provide natural experiments for studying calving mechanics and interactions between glaciers and lakes. The glacier carries the surname of Francisco Pascasio Moreno, the Argentine explorer and naturalist who mapped large areas of Patagonia, and lies within protected parklands.

The glacier developed as an outlet of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field during the late Quaternary glaciations, advancing and retreating as the Holocene climate varied. Movement through constricted mountain valleys formed its lobate terminus and left terminal and lateral moraines along Lake Argentino. Maps and photographs from early exploratory surveys record later changes in the ice front, calving cycles, and ice-dam ruptures.

Natural features of Perito Moreno Glacier

Perito Moreno is a temperate outlet glacier composed of compacted firn and stratified glacial ice. Crevasse fields, seracs, and medial moraines mark its flow toward Lake Argentino. At the lake, its frontal wall extends for roughly five kilometres and rises thirty to seventy metres above the water; total ice thickness exceeds 170 metres at some cross sections. Variable flow speeds and longitudinal stresses produce calving and large icefall structures near Brazo Rico, and basal water flow can be heard within the ice.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Perito Moreno Glacier

Perito Moreno Glacier is protected within Los Glaciares National Park, which is administered by Argentina’s national parks authority and recognized through international heritage listings. Management and research center on cryospheric change, catchment integrity, and freshwater flow into Lake Argentino. National glaciology groups and university teams combine mass-balance measurements, remote sensing, and fieldwork to track structural change and model the glacier’s long-term behavior.

Perito Moreno Glacier facts

The glacier carries the surname of Francisco Pascasio Moreno, an Argentine explorer and naturalist who mapped large parts of Patagonia.
Perito Moreno Glacier terminates at the Brazo Rico arm of Lake Argentino with a frontal width of about five kilometres.
Recurring ice-dam formation and rupture events at this glacier have provided prominent natural experiments for studying calving mechanics and lake–glacier interactions.
This glacier exhibits a stable to advancing mass-balance behavior that contrasts with the general pattern of retreat observed for many surrounding outlet glaciers.
Perito Moreno Glacier is conserved within Los Glaciares National Park and included in international heritage listings administered in coordination with Argentina’s national parks agency.

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