news
the image of the earth
projects
kilimanjaro
die tiefe
glaciers
the glaciers
gorner glacier
vedretta di brenta inferiore
marmolada glacier
übeltalferner
vernagtferner
steingletscher
trift glacier
eiger glacier
glacier de mont de lans ou de mantel
brenva glacier
planpincieux glacier
miage glacier
pasterze
umbalkees
schlatenkees
hallstatt glacier
mer de glace
glacier d’argentière
aletsch glacier
rhone glacier
gepatschferner
silvretta glacier
roseg glacier
forno glacier
morteratsch
höllentalferner
niederer ortlerferner
suldenferner
mandrone glacier
schneeferner
blaueis
the earth art works
the concept
the excavating sites
the work
stromboli
jallikattu
volcanos
sumatra
segantini
puja
maka wakan
menabe
mission
london - paris
rice
arles (van gogh)
rarámuri
pirosmani
europe
songlines
terroir
shoa
sinai
icefire
go west
amazonas
kailas
africa
aotearoa
london
amberg yellow
wine
salt
l'ocre
elephants in snow
todesstreifen
atlantis
dresden
værøy
siena brown
the alpes
the berlin wall
99 photographs
installations
exhibitions
books
editions
texts
videos
galleries
links
vita
contact

glaciers - the glaciers - miage glacier


Miage Glacier

 

Loading Map

The Miage Glacier is situated on the southwest flank of the Mont Blanc massif, flowing from the Col de Bionnassay (3,892 m (12,769 ft) above sea level) in a generally southerly direction towards Val Veny. Its most northerly arm or tributary is the Glacier de Bionnassay Italien, which arises from a cirque between the south eastern side of the Aiguille de Bionnassay, the Col de Bionnassay and the Calotte des Aiguille Grises. This descends for 2.5 km below the Col Infranchissible then turns south-east to merge with other glaciers, thence continuing as the Glacier du Miage (Ghiacciaio del Miage).
At around 10 km (6.2 mi) in length, the Miage Glacier is Italy's longest glacier and also the largest debris-covered glacier in Europe. Approximately 5 km² (1.9 sq mi) of its total area of ~11 km² (4.2 sq mi) is covered in debris originating primarily in rockfall from surrounding walls[3] and avalanching in accumulation areas of its four tributaries. Debris carried along within the glacier is also being exposed at increased rates due to accelerating thinning of the glacier tongue.
The number of sources of supraglacial debris as well as the unusual, mica schist-dominated lithology of the rock walls surrounding the glacier, makes for a varied debris lithology; debris cover becomes continuous at ~2,400 m (7,900 ft) above mean sea level (asl) and remains unbroken to the terminus. Patchy areas can occur, however, where crevasses or moulins occur. Debris thickness generally increases from a few centimetres at 2,400 m (7,900 ft) asl to over 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) at the terminus at ~1,775 m (5,823 ft) asl, although the spatial distribution of thicknesses is heterogeneous especially on parts of the northern terminal lobe.

◼︎ Wikipedia


◼︎ Glaciers of the Alps