Glacier snow can hide huge crevices so big that they could hold buildings within it. Glaciers start high up in the mountains sourced by many metres of snowfall, which compacts and thickens over the years turning it into ice.
This forms the start of the glacier. These can then become hidden by snow. Some arid mountains in the South Island can contain rock glaciers. Rock glaciers are snow and loose rocks that are frozen together.
At the centre of the rocks and between all the gaps, ice acts like glue sticking rocks together. The process is so vast that it gives the impression of a river of slow-moving rock.
Franz Joseph and Fox Glacier, West Coast, have been the cause of flash flooding for thousands of years. Melted snow and rain gather in the gaps between the two mountain sides and slowly freeze. Liquid water remains trapped and will only be released when the parts of the glacier holding it back finally break. Then, it can surge to the bottom of the valley. Global warming is a fact, people, so be a green traveller!
This article was written and updated by Luke Wing, a travel writer from the UK. His year-long working holiday in New Zealand focussed on WWOOFing, working in the dairy industry, and experiencing Aotearoa through the hop-on hop-off bus network. All of these experiences he now shares on NZ Pocket Guide. By using this website you agree to our Privacy Policy and the terms of use within it.
Contact — Disclaimer. Skip to content. Gotta Love Those Glaciers! Two Planes Have Been Discovered Inside Glaciers The Mangatoetoenui Glacier on Mt Ruapehu is moving at a generally slow speed of 20m 66ft a year, which has been calculated thanks to a plane crash that happened in Throughout the 's to the 's the headwaters of the main rivers on the eastern side of the Alps were visited by explorers, while Douglas systematically explored each of the rugged forested valleys of the west to its headwaters glaciers.
By , guided tours were being conducted from both sides of the Alps on Franz Josef and Tasman Glaciers. Many of these early visitors made observations on the positions of the glacier termini and on rates of ice movement Mannering, ; FitzGerald, In , T. Brodrick began mapping topography and glaciers in the Mount Cook area Gellatly, Cross-glacier lines of stakes were installed on Tasman, Murchison, and Hooker Glaciers, while painted stones were positioned in a line across Mueller Glacier.
This work was the first precise glaciological measurement carried out in New Zealand. These sections were resurveyed in Skinner, Observations of the positions of the termini of Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers by surveys and photographic records have been sporadically maintained since fig.
During the past two decades, National Park staff have taken weekly photographs from fixed points, giving a permanent time-lapse record of all fluctuations of glacier termini.
Modern Glacier Observations. In , I. In , when this initial project was completed, the Ministry of Works initiated mass-balance measurements; this work continued until Chinn, In , ice thickness was measured over three sections across the trunk of the glacier Anderton, Repetitive oblique photographs are being made from time to time by the Mount Cook National Park Board. A recent study has documented the retreat of the small, steep Stocking Glacier, situated between Mueller and Hooker Glaciers Salinger and others, To the west, the fluctuations of Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers have been documented by Suggate , Bowen , Sara , , and Soons , but flow measurements by Gunn and McSaveney and Gage are the most comprehensive of the studies made on the ice of these glaciers.
Chinn of the Ministry of Works began mass- and waterbalance studies on Ivory Glacier fig. These studies continued, along with energy-balance projects, until In , G.
Later, in , permanent photographic stations were installed Heine, , and balance studies were made on Whakapapanui Glacier over Thompson and Kells, Glacier-snowline elevations the elevation of the end-of-summer snowline on a glacier are being measured in a program of annual photographic surveys of glaciers throughout the Southern Alps. The first complete survey was made in Chinn and Whitehouse, Mean snowline altitudes varied from 1, m in the south and west to 2, m in the east.
The trend of the snowline surface shows strongly the influence of westerly precipitation on the distribution of glaciers. Snowlines descend perceptibly from the extreme west to a trough located parallel to, but somewhat east of, the zone of maximum precipitation Griffiths and McSaveney, ; Chinn, With decreasing precipitation, the snowline rises rapidly near the crest of the main divide and continues to rise with a lower eastward gradient.
Imposed on this generalized pattern are complex topographic variations of two origins. Large mountain masses, lying across the direction of the prevailing northwest winds and west of the divide, generate precipitation-shadow areas, the result being higher snowlines in the shadow area. This pattern of precipitation-shadow areas is repeated east of the main divide. Where low passes occur, the precipitation-shadow effect is drastically reduced; moist maritime air masses, therefore, can penetrate east of the main divide, resulting in markedly lower snowlines than in the shadow areas.
Gradients of the snowline elevation across the main divide vary from 25 m km -1 to 40 m -1 km. These gradients are up to four times as steep as those found at the glaciation limit 2 Porter, and 10 to 20 times as steep as those measured for arctic and subarctic regions Andrews and Miller, Localized areas of very steep gradients occur that far exceed the mean values.
The Glacier Track offers an easy route achievable by older children into a dramatic alpine landscape that includes snowfields, glaciers, sheer rock cliffs and waterfalls. We aim to make visiting our beautiful land effortless. Let our expert holiday planners put together an itinerary for you, no obligation FREE of charge, or get some friendly advice on what small group tour would suit - Just follow the link and answer a few brief questions.
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