Week 3: Glacier

The Pasterze glacier is one of the largest valley glaciers located in the Austria Alps. This is truly a breath-taking sight to see. You can see the massive moraines this glacier has carved out of the mountain side. The walls and bedrock from a distance look incredible smooth almost polished. Looking at the moraines of the glacier is simpler to imagine the area being man made, rather than a massive glacier. At the top of the mountain the moraines width is massive and starts to narrow as you follow it down the mountain. Over the past 100 years it is estimated that the glacier has lost over half of its size. This is hard to imagine looking at the area from the observation deck. However, if you look at a satellite image of the area it becomes clear how fast and how much the glacier has lost.   

When looking at the satellite image you get a better idea of where the snowline of the glacier, the moraines, and the area of where the sediment washed out into. This satellite image gives a good comparison of the glacier to the left of Kaiser, and the mountain range to the right of Kaiser.