Barranco Glacier

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Barranco Glacier
Kilimanjaro Glaciers.jpg
NASA image from 2004 with locations of major glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro. Barranco Glacier is not notated but is seen as a snowfield to the left of Diamond Glacier. Click on image to expand.
Tanzania relief location map.svg
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Barranco Glacier
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Barranco Glacier
TypeMountain glacier
Coordinates 03°04′26″S37°20′27″E / 3.07389°S 37.34083°E / -3.07389; 37.34083
TerminusTalus
StatusRetreating, possibly extinct
Barranco Glacier

Barranco Glacier (once known as the Great Barranco Glacier) is near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the southwest slope of the peak and is a small remnant of an icecap which once crowned the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. [1] The glacier is situated at an elevation of between 5,200 and 4,800 metres (17,100 and 15,700 ft). [2] The Great Barranco Glacier was far larger when first documented in the late 19th century and it along with the now extinct Little Barranco Glacier may have been fed by the Furtwängler Glacier which is on the top of the mountain. By 2011, Barranco Glacier was reduced to two small disconnected and dormant ice bodies. [3]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrow Glacier</span>

Arrow Glacier is located near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the west slope of the peak and is a small remnant of an icecap which once crowned the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. The glacier is situated at an elevation of between 5,470 and 5,300 metres. Arrow Glacier is adjacent to a climbing route known as the Western Breach/Arrow Glacier Route or more commonly, the Lemosho Route. Arrow Glacier is a recently named glacial remnant that may not even exist as of 2011. It was what remained of an earlier glacier known as the Little Barranco Glacier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balletto Glacier</span>

Balletto Glacier is near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the southwest slope of the peak and is a small remnant of an icecap which once crowned the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. The glacier is situated at an elevation of between 5,400 and 5,000 metres. Balletto Glacier is situated on the enormous 1,200-metre (3,900 ft) rock wall known as the "Breach Wall" and is below Diamond Glacier. The two glaciers are connected by an enormous icicle which hangs down the rock face as much as 90 m (300 ft).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Credner Glacier</span>

Credner Glacier is on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the northwest slope of the peak and is a remnant of an icecap which once crowned the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. The glacier is situated at an elevation of between 5,800 and 5,500 metres. Credner Glacier is one of the largest glaciers on the mountain and descends from the Northern Ice Field. Credner is rapidly retreating due to its high exposure point on the northwest slope of Mount Kilimanjaro. A report published in 2013 indicated that in another decade the glacier may no longer exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drygalski Glacier (Tanzania)</span>

Drygalski Glacier was on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the northwest slope of the peak. The glacier terminus once extended to an elevation of 4,800 metres (15,700 ft) with an origination point near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and was fed by the Northern Ice Field. The Great Penck Glacier once flanked Drygalski Glacier to the south and until recently, the Credner Glacier did as well to the north. Drygalski Glacier is named for German geographer Erich von Drygalski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Penck Glacier</span>

Great Penck Glacier was on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the west slope of the peak. Extending from the Northern Ice Field, the glacier once flowed 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi), to an elevation of 4,750 metres (15,580 ft). Between the years 1962 and 1975, Great Penck Glacier separated from the Northern Icefield and disappeared. Drygalski Glacier once also existed to the north of Great Penck, while the same is true of the Little Penck Glacier, which was to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Penck Glacier</span>

Little Penck Glacier is on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the west slope of the peak. Once extending from the Northern Ice Field, the glacier detached from the icefield by 1992. A sizeable but stagnant ice body remains near the 1912 historical terminal end of the glacier. The now vanished Great Penck and Uhlig Glaciers once flanked Little Penck Glacier to the north and south, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ice Field (Mount Kilimanjaro)</span>

The Northern Ice Field is near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the west slope of the peak. The Northern Ice Field and Eastern Ice Fields were connected to the Southern Ice Field and formed part of a continuous body of glacial ice atop Mount Kilimanjaro when first scientifically examined in 1912. By 1962 the Southern Ice Field separated from the Northern Ice Field and then by 1975 the Eastern Ice Field did as well. In 1912, the glaciated areas atop Mount Kilimanjaro covered 11.40 square kilometres (4.40 sq mi); by 2011 this had been reduced to 1.76 square kilometres (0.68 sq mi), an 85 percent loss. At one time, ice flowing off the Northern Ice Field fed numerous glaciers, including, north to south, the Credner, Drygalski, Great Penck and Little Penck Glaciers.

References

  1. Young, James A.T. (1991). "Glaciers of the Middle East and Africa - Glaciers of Africa" (PDF). U. S. Geological Survey. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  2. Singh, Vijay P., ed. (July 1, 2011). Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers (2011 ed.). Springer. p. 676. ISBN   978-9048126415 . Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  3. N. J. Cullen; P. Sirguey; T. M¨olg; G. Kaser; M. Winkler; S. J. Fitzsimons (2013). "A century of ice retreat on Kilimanjaro: the mapping reloaded" (PDF). The Cryosphere. 7 (2): 419–431. doi: 10.5194/tc-7-419-2013 .