Photo Gallery

The largest glacier in the Alps (23.6 km long and around 117.6 km2 big in 2001) flows at a speed of 200 meters a year. The climate change is threatening to melt 80% of the alpine glaciers. (Aletsch Glacier, Valais, Switzerland)

In the Patagonia, the Perito Moreno glacier front is 60 m high and 5 km long, towering over the Lago Argentino, into which from time to time mighty blocks of ice thunder down. This 30-km long glacier, with an area of 250 km2, is the only one in Argentina – and perhaps in the whole world – that has remained hardly untouched by the climate change.

Aerial photograph of the McBride Glacier in Glacier National Park, Alaska.

The legends are only available in German, French or Spanish
«Diadème» des Andes centrales, le gigantesque nevado du Huascaran (6768m) - sommet culminant du Pérou et le second d'Amérique -, éclaire de ses neiges éternelles la Cordillera Blanca, longue de 180 kilomètres et qualifiée de «Suisse» péruvienne.

Lake Brazo Rico near Calafate - in the background you can already see the Perito Moreno glacier. - Santa Cruz Province - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andes Cordillera, which represents an insurmountable barrier in some sections. The winds blow from the Pacific in an almost unchanging direction. The clouds they bring accumulate above the high mountain peaks and cause abundant precipitation. This explains why, despite their low altitude, glaciers of sometimes enormous dimensions extend along the eastern flank of the Andes. In the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies the Argentino, the Silver Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is visited by more and more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen nearby. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. An equally famous one is called Perito Moreno. - On the picture you can recognise the author of these photos: Maximilien Bruggmann. - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andes Cordillera, which represents an insurmountable barrier in some sections. The winds blow from the Pacific in an almost unchanging direction. The clouds they bring accumulate above the high mountain peaks and cause abundant precipitation. This explains why, despite their low altitude, glaciers of sometimes enormous dimensions extend along the eastern flank of the Andes. In the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies the Argentino, the Silver Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is visited by more and more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen nearby. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. An equally famous one is called Perito Moreno. Navigation on the Silver Lake is dangerous, if only because of the wind and the storms that are frequent in the Cordillera. Nature, preserved in its authenticity, attracts many scientists who can devote themselves to their studies here. - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andes Cordillera, which represents an insurmountable barrier in some sections. The winds blow from the Pacific in an almost unchanging direction. The clouds they bring accumulate above the high mountain peaks and cause abundant precipitation. This explains why, despite their low altitude, glaciers of sometimes enormous dimensions extend along the eastern flank of the Andes. In the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies the Argentino, the Silver Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is visited by more and more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen nearby. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. An equally famous one is called Perito Moreno. Navigation on the Silver Lake is dangerous, if only because of the wind and the storms that are frequent in the Cordillera. Nature, preserved in its authenticity, attracts many scientists who can devote themselves to their studies here. - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andes Cordillera, which represents an insurmountable barrier in some sections. The winds blow from the Pacific in an almost unchanging direction. The clouds they bring accumulate above the high mountain peaks and cause abundant precipitation. This explains why, despite their low altitude, glaciers of sometimes enormous dimensions extend along the eastern flank of the Andes. In the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies the Argentino, the Silver Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is visited by more and more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen nearby. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. An equally famous one is called Perito Moreno. Navigation on the Silver Lake is dangerous, if only because of the wind and the storms that are frequent in the Cordillera. Nature, preserved in its authenticity, attracts many scientists who can devote themselves to their studies here. - 1973

The western part of Patagonia is formed by the Andes Cordillera, which represents an insurmountable barrier in some sections. The winds blow from the Pacific in an almost unchanging direction. The clouds they bring accumulate above the high mountain peaks and cause abundant precipitation. This explains why, despite their low altitude, glaciers of sometimes enormous dimensions extend along the eastern flank of the Andes. In the Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz Province) lies the Argentino, the Silver Lake, one of the most beautiful lakes in this southern region. The town of Calafate on its southern shore is visited by more and more tourists. Several glaciers can be seen nearby. One is called Uppsala and is 40 kilometres long. An equally famous one is called Perito Moreno. Navigation on the Silver Lake is dangerous, if only because of the wind and the storms that are frequent in the Cordillera. Nature, preserved in its authenticity, attracts many scientists who can devote themselves to their studies here. - 1973

The Argentine Antarctic covers an area of 1,230,000 square kilometres, a world of ice and rocks that is still largely unexplored. Only a few have had the courage and endurance to venture into this inhospitable region, where dangers threaten and temperatures are extremely low. Already in certain sections of the Andes Cordillera, especially in the southernmost part, one feels this impression of solitude. You only have to make the trip to the Perito Moreno glacier to convince yourself of this. This magnificent glacier owes its name to an Argentinean naturalist. It is 17 kilometres long and at least three kilometres wide, with a front height of 70 metres. Here at the glacier break-off, blocks of ice are constantly breaking away and plummeting into the depths with a deafening roar. They then float as icebergs through Lake Argentino. The Perito Moreno glacier advances four metres a year - a consequence of the heavy precipitation on the peaks of the southernmost Andes. - 1973

Another view of the 5,790-metre-high Cayambe volcano from the surrounding agricultural highlands of Pichincha Province, where the indigenous people (the Kayambi) have traditionally practised agriculture and livestock farming. – Ecuador – 1972

Cotopaxi (5,897 m) in Ecuador’s Eastern Cordillera is the highest active volcano on Earth. Although it has not erupted since 1928, the column of smoke rising above its smooth summit on cool days proves that it is by no means extinct. - Book: Picture 33 - Ecuador - 1973

As the eastern tongue of the great Patagonian ice field, the 17-kilometre-long Moreno Glacier stretches down to the southern arm of Lago Argentino, where it ends in a 70-metre-high ice wall. Its scientific discoverer, R. Hauthal, had named it the ‘Bismarck Glacier’ in 1899; it was given its current name in honour of the Argentine naturalist F. P. Moreno. Even in Hauthal’s day, clear signs of irregular advances were evident, whilst the other Southern Andes glaciers were already retreating. Since then, the Canal de los Témpanos has been completely blocked on several occasions, leading to a build-up of water in the southern part of the lake and catastrophic flooding, prompting attempts – in vain – to blast the ice wall with bombs. It was only after a transverse crevasse had formed in the 2 to 2.5-kilometre-wide glacier tongue that the floodwaters drained away. Today, the ‘Canal de los Témpanos’ is open again. - Book: Picture 204 - Argentina - 1973

As the eastern tongue of the great Patagonian ice field, the 17-kilometre-long Moreno Glacier stretches down to the southern arm of Lago Argentino, where it ends in a 70-metre-high ice wall. Its scientific discoverer, R. Hauthal, had named it the ‘Bismarck Glacier’ in 1899; it was given its current name in honour of the Argentine naturalist F. P. Moreno. Even in Hauthal’s day, clear signs of irregular advances were evident, whilst the other Southern Andes glaciers were already retreating. Since then, the Canal de los Témpanos has been completely blocked on several occasions, leading to a build-up of water in the southern part of the lake and catastrophic flooding, prompting attempts – in vain – to blast the ice wall with bombs. It was only after a transverse crevasse had formed in the 2 to 2.5-kilometre-wide glacier tongue that the floodwaters drained away. Today, the ‘Canal de los Témpanos’ is open again. - Book: Picture 203 - Argentina - 1973

The Perito Moreno Glacier (Spanish: Glaciar Perito Moreno) is one of the best-known and most spectacular glaciers on Earth. It is situated in Los Glaciares National Park in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz, in south-western Patagonia. The glacier stretches for around 30 kilometres and is 5 kilometres wide. The impressive ice front rises, on average, 55 to 75 metres above the surface of Lago Argentino. Underwater, the ice extends a further 100 metres or so into the depths. Unlike most glaciers worldwide, which are shrinking due to global warming, the Perito Moreno Glacier is in a relatively stable equilibrium. It advances by up to 2 metres every day. As a result of this continuous movement, chunks of ice as tall as houses regularly break off from the front. This phenomenon is accompanied by a thunderous crash and a deep rumble that can be heard for kilometres. As it advances, the glacier periodically blocks a side arm of Lago Argentino (Brazo Rico). The dammed-up water builds up enormous pressure until the barrier finally collapses in a spectacular process lasting several days. – Argentina – 1973

As the eastern tongue of the great Patagonian ice field, the 17-kilometre-long Moreno Glacier stretches down to the southern arm of Lago Argentino, where it ends in a 70-metre-high ice wall. Its scientific discoverer, R. Hauthal, had named it the ‘Bismarck Glacier’ in 1899; it was given its current name in honour of the Argentine naturalist F. P. Moreno. Even in Hauthal’s day, clear signs of irregular advances were evident, whilst the other Southern Andes glaciers were already retreating. Since then, the Canal de los Témpanos has been completely blocked on several occasions, leading to a build-up of water in the southern part of the lake and catastrophic flooding, prompting attempts – in vain – to blast the ice wall with bombs. It was only after a transverse crevasse had formed in the 2 to 2.5-kilometre-wide glacier tongue that the floodwaters drained away. Today, the ‘Canal de los Témpanos’ is open again. - Book: Picture 202 - Argentina - 1973