| Miage Glacier | |
|---|---|
 Debris-covered lower slopes of Miage Glacier in 2009 | |
  Miage Glacier Glacier's location in the Alps  Miage Glacier Miage Glacier (Northern Italy) | |
| Location | Southern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif |
| Coordinates | 45°48′15″N6°50′26″E / 45.80417°N 6.84056°E |
| Area | 11 square kilometres (4.2 sq mi) |
| Length | 10 km (6.2 mi) |
 | |
The Miage Glacier (French : Glacier du Miage; Italian : Ghiacciaio del Miage) is a debris-covered glacier in the upper Aosta Valley, in northwestern Italy.
It is situated on the southwest flank of the Mont Blanc massif, flowing from the Bionnassay Pass (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 Infranchissable then turns south-east to merge with other glaciers, thence continuing as the Miage glacier.
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. [1] [2] 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. [4] Debris carried along within the glacier is also being exposed at increased rates due to accelerating thinning of the glacier tongue. [4]
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. [4] 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. [5]
Miage Lake is an ice-contact lake near the southern end of the Miage Glacier, located on the outside of the glacier's 90-degree bend eastwards. [6] It is a popular tourist attraction due to the spectacular ice cliffs rising up to one side and its two-coloured appearance. The colours reflect varying sediment concentrations in the water which arise as a result of the filtering effect of the debris. [7]
Huge ice blocks have been known to break off the glacier and fall into the lake, providing another major tourist attraction despite the low chance of such an event occurring. On August 7, 1996, a particularly large block, estimated to have had a volume of 7000-16000m3, fell into the lake causing an abnormally large wave that seriously injured several people. [8] The incident was caught on camera by at least one tourist.
A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris, sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sheet. It may consist of partly rounded particles ranging in size from boulders down to gravel and sand, in a groundmass of finely-divided clayey material sometimes called glacial flour. Lateral moraines are those formed at the side of the ice flow, and terminal moraines are those formed at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types of moraine include ground moraines and medial moraines.
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe, and the highest mountain in Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains, rising 4,805.59 m (15,766 ft) above sea level, located on the Franco-Italian border. It is the second-most prominent mountain in Europe, after Mount Elbrus, and the 11th most prominent mountain in the world.
The Mer de Glace is a valley glacier located on the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif, in the French Alps. It is 7.5 km long and 200 metres (660 ft) deep but, when all its tributary glaciers are taken into account, it can be regarded as the longest and largest glacier in France, and the second longest in the Alps after the Aletsch Glacier.
I can no otherwise convey to you an image of this body of ice, broken into irregular ridges and deep chasms than by comparing it to waves instantaneously frozen in the midst of a violent storm.
A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock differing from the type of rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word errare, are carried by glacial ice, often over distances of hundreds of kilometres. Erratics can range in size from pebbles to large boulders such as Big Rock in Alberta.
The Aiguille de Bionnassay is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the Alps in France and Italy. It has been described as "one of the most attractive satellite peaks of Mont Blanc", and is located on its western side. The mountain's south and east ridges form the frontier between the two countries, and its summit is a knife-edge crest of snow and ice. Reaching it via any route provides a "splendid and serious snow and ice climb".
The Aiguille du Midi is a 3,842-metre-tall (12,605 ft) mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
The Mont Blanc tramway or Tramway du Mont-Blanc (TMB) is a mountain railway line in the Haute-Savoie department of France. It is the highest in France and the fourth highest in Europe. It is also the only railway in France reaching over 2,000 metres above sea level.
Monte Rosa is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over 4,000 m (13,000 ft), is the Dufourspitze, the second highest mountain in the Alps and western Europe, after Mont Blanc. The east face of the Monte Rosa towards Italy has a height of about 2,400 metres (7,900 ft) and is the highest mountain wall of the Alps.
Les Contamines-Montjoie is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) in height. It is named after Mont Blanc, the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacier – the longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.
The Torino Hut is a high mountain refuge in the Alps in northwestern Italy. Located near the border with France, it is about 15 km (10 mi) southwest of Mont Dolent, the tripoint with Switzerland. The refuge is in the Mont Blanc massif above the town of Courmayeur in the Aosta Valley, Italy. It can be most easily accessed from the Italian side by the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car from La Palud in Courmayeur, with a change at the Pavilion du Mont Fréty. It can also be reached from Chamonix via the Aiguille du Midi, either by cable car which crosses the massif, or by a long crossing of the Glacier du Gèant. The refuge lies nearly directly above the 11.6 km (7.2 mi) Mont Blanc Tunnel, which passes deep underground, and connects Courmayeur to Chamonix.
The Aiguille des Glaciers is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the Graian Alps. It lies on the borders of Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France and Aosta Valley in Italy.
The Tête Rousse Glacier is a small but significant glacier located in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps whose collapse in 1892 killed 200 people in the town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains.
The Aiguille de Triolet is a mountain on the eastern part the Mont Blanc massif, on the border between France and Italy.
Val Veny is a lateral valley of the Mont Blanc massif, lying to the south-west of Courmayeur. The valley head is at the Seigne Pass.
The Gonella Hut, sometimes called in Italian Rifugio del Dôme or in French Refuge du Dôme, is a high elevation mountain hut in the Aosta Valley in the Mont Blanc massif area of the Alps. It lies at an elevation of 3071 metres, above Val Veny near Courmayeur in Italy. The refuge is located on the Italian normal route to Mont Blanc.
The Aiguille de Tré-la-Tête is a mountain in the south of the Mont Blanc massif. Its highest point, the central southeast pinnacle, is 3,930 metres (12,894 ft) above sea level and is located in Italy. Only the northwest pinnacle is situated on the border with France. It forms a chain with the Dômes de Miage.
The Dômes de Miage are a line of mountain peaks in the south of the Mont Blanc massif that reach a height of 3,673 metres. The snow-covered arête from which they rise is over three kilometres long. The six peaks in the chain are : L'Aiguille de la Bérangère, and unnamed tops known only from their heights as Dôme 3670, Dôme 3666, Dôme 3633, Dôme 3673 and Dôme 3672.
The Tour Ronde is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif of the Alps, situated on the border between France and Italy. It is a prominent mountain, some 3.5 km north-east of Mont Blanc, but is effectively part of a continuation of the south eastern spur of Mont Maudit which forms a frontier ridge between the two countries. It is easily accessible to mountaineers and provides not only a very good viewpoint from its summit of the Brenva face and the major peaks on the southern side of Mont Blanc, but it also offers a popular introduction to alpine climbing of all grades, including a north face ascent.
The Brenva Glacier is a valley glacier, located on the southern side of the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps. It is the second longest and eighth largest glacier in Italy, and descends down into Val Veny, close to Entrèves, near Courmayeur. Over the centuries it has experienced a number of major rock avalanches which have shaped the glacier and influenced its movement.
