Upsala Glacier (Argentina) – Location, Geography, Facts

Upsala Glacier is an outlet glacier in Argentina that drains part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field.

Upsala Glacier, Argentina.

Country: Argentina
Coordinates: 49.7603° S, 73.2754° W

Upsala Glacier overview

Upsala Glacier is an outlet glacier in Argentina that drains part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. It terminates in the Brazo Upsala arm of Lago Argentino within Los Glaciares National Park, placing its ice front at lake level and defining its primary hydrological connection. Upsala Glacier is formally classified as a tidewater or lake-terminating outlet glacier, notable for large calving events and sustained scientific monitoring of mass balance and retreat.

Upsala Glacier coordinates

Upsala Glacier is commonly mapped at approximately 49.7603° S, 73.2754° W, or -49.7603, -73.2754 in decimal degrees.

Degrees: 49.7603° S, 73.2754° W

Decimal: -49.7603, -73.2754

Where Upsala Glacier is located

Upsala Glacier lies in Santa Cruz Province on the eastern margin of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, contributing ice to the Brazo Upsala of Lago Argentino. Administratively it sits inside Los Glaciares National Park, managed by Argentina’s National Parks Administration and included within the park’s protected landscape. The glacier occupies a broad valley that channels ice eastward from the ice field toward the lake, and its position is roughly around fifty degrees south latitude on the Patagonian Andes' eastern flank.

Why Upsala Glacier is important

Upsala Glacier matters for glaciology because it is one of the principal ice-discharge outlets feeding Lago Argentino, producing large tabular icebergs that alter lake circulation and sediment delivery. Its rapid calving-driven retreats have provided clear, measurable examples of outlet-glacier response to mass-balance imbalance, making it a frequent subject of satellite and field studies. The glacier’s dynamics also influence downstream freshwater inputs and sedimentation patterns within Brazo Upsala, distinguishing it from nearby land-terminating glaciers.

History of Upsala Glacier

Upsala Glacier formed as part of the advance and retreat cycles of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field during glacial and post-glacial intervals, carving a deep trough that now channels ice to Lago Argentino. Over millennial timescales, its accumulation zone on the ice field built the thick ice streams that feed the terminus. During the modern observational era, researchers documented progressive retreat of the calving front and episodic ice-front collapses that opened new lake channels and accelerated ice loss, while aerial photography and satellite imagery have tracked changes in terminus position and surface morphology.

Natural features of Upsala Glacier

Upsala Glacier exhibits a high-relief, heavily crevassed ablation zone with seracs and pervasive crevasse fields where flow accelerates toward the lake. The glacier flows over a bed cut into metamorphic and igneous bedrock typical of the Patagonian Andes, and its upper reaches merge with the contiguous ice of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. The terminus forms a calving front into proglacial waters, producing tabular and irregular icebergs, and its surface shows a contrast between blue-ice exposed flow bands and snow-covered accumulation areas.

Environment, protection, and monitoring of Upsala Glacier

Upsala Glacier lies within Los Glaciares National Park, a formally designated protected area that also has international recognition under UNESCO for its glacial landscape. Park authorities, national scientific agencies, and academic institutions coordinate glacier monitoring programs that include aerial surveys, satellite remote sensing, and field mass-balance measurements. Environmental management focuses on long-term monitoring of ice retreat, lake-level and sedimentation impacts, and preservation of surrounding freshwater and mountain ecosystems affected by changing glacial inputs.

Upsala Glacier facts

Upsala Glacier terminates in the Brazo Upsala arm of Lago Argentino, producing some of the largest icebergs observed in that lake.
The glacier drains a portion of the eastern Southern Patagonian Ice Field, making it a major outlet in the Patagonian ice system.
The name Upsala reflects historical links to Swedish exploration and to the Swedish academic center of Uppsala through early naming conventions.
Compared with adjacent, land-terminating glaciers, Upsala Glacier’s lake-terminating front exhibits frequent large calving events that reshape its terminus geometry.
Upsala Glacier is situated entirely within Los Glaciares National Park, an area recognized for its representative glacial features and protected management.

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