Tag Archives: Lago Argentino

Above Argentina – Part 1: Patagonia

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The flight from El Calafate to Mendoza via Buenos Aires (like most domestic flights in Argentina) provided opportunities for aerial photos of all three locations. I’ll share aerial views in this and the next two posts.

We flew out of El Calafate’s airport on a morning of sunshine and dramatic clouds. Our path crossed Lago Argentino, the large fresh-water lake whose source is the Andean glaciers. We had good views of the lake and the Andes beyond.

We then tracked the valley of the Santa Cruz River, which runs from Lago Argentina to the Atlantic Ocean.

Next: On to Buenos Aires for a change of planes!

Upsala Glacier

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After the track petered out and the 4×4 vehicle could go no further, we walked about half a kilometer over desolate Andean glacial moraine to reach a stunning viewpoint over the Upsala glacier.

In the picture above, you can see one of Upsala glacier’s three branches sitting above the lake, while in the foreground the glacial moraine is visible. Below, one of two tributary glaciers feeds into the second branch of Upsala glacier.

Upsala is one of the many glaciers that is shrinking. This one is shrinking rather dramatically–at about six meters *per day*. In the above two photos the high-level mark of Upsala glacier on the rock mountains is dramatically evident.

Land meets sea meets sky on Lago Argentino – December 25, 2010

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The largest body of fresh water in Argentina, Lago Argentino is the terminus of several southern Andean glaciers. As you might expect, it’s surrounded by mountains.

As the day went on, the views became more and more dramatic.

Clouds developed, until the interaction of sea and sky and mountain was heartstoppingly beautiful.

When the ship reached the dock at Estancia Cristina, we debarked and took a four-wheel drive vehicle over truly beautiful countryside to reach a viewpoint of the Upsala Glacier. The next post contains views of that countryside.