Glacier lake: what is and how is it

A glacier lake is a body of water that is formed from the recoil or melting of a glacier. These originate when the huge masses of ice, when moving, erodes the terrain and excavate depressions in areas where the slope decreases. With the passage of time, ice melts and depressions are filled with water from thawing, giving rise to a lake.

A curiosity is that many of these lakes formed during the Pleistoceneone was characterized by intense climatic modifications and extensive glaciations. In some cases, large blocks of ice were trapped between glacier hills (Drumlins) and, when melting, generated small lakes surrounded by typical formations such as muras, stretch marks and eskers.

Glacier lakes have unique characteristics: during winter, densest water accumulates at about 4 ° C, while The surface can freezegenerating a layer of ice that is maintained depending on altitude and reigning conditions. In addition, its waters may have whitish or greenish tones due to the presence of fine mineral particles that also influence aquatic life.

Due to their insulation and extreme conditions, these lakes usually house unique species, which makes them valuable ecosystems from the biological point of view.

1. Glacier lakes are born by Ice action in motion. As glaciers slowly advance on the ground, they act as huge files that wear out the surface under them. This erosive process forms depressions and furrows, leaving the landscape marked with footprints that, later, will become basins.
2. When the glacier begins to retreat due to heating or thawing, those depressions can be filled with water product of the melting of the glacier, forming a lake.
3. However, this is not the only way in which these bodies of water appear. Often, glaciers drag and accumulate rock fragments and sediments forming natural barriers called Moranas. These structures can act as dikes that retain water, giving rise to temporary or permanent lakes.
4. In certain cases, even Ice itself can form a dam. This occurs when a glacier in waves (which moves at high speed) blocks a valley or fjord, catching the thaw water and creating a lake.
5. However, these lakes are not always stable. Dams formed by Moranas, although sometimes solid, may have leaks or yield under accumulated water pressure, especially during periods of intense thaw. This can cause sudden overflows or ruptures that release large volumes of water, sweeping with everything while passing down river.

• Lake Buenos Aires: It is the largest of glacial origin in the Andes and is shared by Argentina and Chile (where it is known as Lake General Carrera). It has an area of approximately 2,240 square kilometers and a maximum depth of 585 meters. Did you know that it constitutes one of the best examples of the world of landscape conservation modeled by glacial action?
• Cold Lake: In the Nahuel Huapi National Park within the province of Río Negro is Lake Frías, an elongated lacustrine mirror of glacial origin, surrounded by steep rocky walls. This lake receives thaw water from the glaciers of the Tronador hill and its turquoise color is a product of fine sediments transported by the Frías stream. During winter, some parts of the lake get freezing.
• Geneva Lake: Also known as Lago Leman is the largest lake of Western Europe. Located in the north of the Alps, between France and Switzerland, it has an area of 582 km², of which 60 % (348 km²) corresponds to Switzerland and 40 % (234 km²) to France. It constitutes an important tourist site where a lot of boats navigate.
• Jökulsárón: It is the most emblematic glacier lake in Iceland, located south of the Vatnajökull glacier. It formed around the 1934 and 1935 and has grown rapidly, moving from about 7.9 km² in 1975 to approximately 18 km² today. With about 200 meters deep, it is famous for the icebergs that are detached from the breiðamerkurjökull glacier and float in its waters.
• Moraine Lake: This lake is located in the Banff National Park within the Rocky Mountains of Alberta and is an emblem of the Alpine Glacial Lake. Fed by the thaw of the Wenkchemna glacier, it stands out for its intense turquoise blue color caused by the refraction of the light because of the sediments that are suspended in the water.
• Lake Peyto: Within the Banff National Park, in Alberta, this lake of glacier origin that feeds on the thaw of the Peyto glacier is located. It has an area of approximately 5.3 km² and is famous for its wolf’s head when it is observed from certain viewpoints. It has an intense turquoise color and forms one of the most photographed landscapes of the Canadian rock mountains.

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