INCREDIBLE COLLAPSE TRIGGERED BY GLACIER CALVING | Argentina

An incredibly large chunk of the Perito Moreno Glacier's ice-sheet breaks off and flips over in a spectacular way. The ice-sheet of the glacier Perito Moreno is in average 70 meters / 250 feet high and the world's 3rd largest reserve of fresh water. Thankfully no-one was injured as boats stay at a safe distance from the glacier (for a good reason).

The Perito Moreno Glacier is famous for insane glacier wall collapses during the summer when large icebergs – often up to 250 feet in height – are breaking off the glacier and collapsing into water of the Lago Argentino. In the right time of the year big blocks of ice break off the glacier and drop into the water. The waves created by such glacier calving events often splash dozens of meters through the air. The glacier is one of Argentina's most beautiful natural wonders. The glacier itself is about 5 km (3.1 mi) wide and has an average height of 74 m (240 ft) above the surface of the water.

Glacier calving, also known as ice calving, or iceberg calving, is the breaking of ice chunks from the edge of a glacier. The sudden release and breaking away of a mass of ice from a glacier or iceberg often causes large waves around the area and can result in a "shooter" which is a large chunk of the submerged portion of the iceberg surfacing above the water. The ice that breaks away can be classified as an iceberg, but may also be a growler, bergy bit, or a crevasse wall breakaway. The entry of the ice into the water causes large, and often hazardous waves. (Find out more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_calving).

© Laura Q. / LS