Arolla Glacier

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Bas Glacier d'Arolla

The Arolla Glacier (French Glacier d'Arolla ) denotes a glacier system at the far end in Val d'Arolla in the Valais Alps , in the canton of Valais , near the southern border of Switzerland . The system consists of the following two glaciers:

location

The larger glacier is the Glacier du Mont Collon with a length of almost 5 km and a width of 1 km in the upper part. It covers an area of ​​around 7 km². It starts at the Pointes d'Oren (up to 3525  m above sea level ) and flows northwards through a wide hollow between the Petit Mont Collon (3556 m above sea level) in the west and L'Evêque (3716 m above sea level). M.) and Mont Collon in the east. To the west, it has a wide, ice-covered pass ( Col de Chermotane , 3050 m above sea level. M.) connection to the Otemma Glacier .

On the western flank of Mont Collon, the glacier falls with a gradient of sometimes over 60% and overcomes a height difference of 600 m. In the lower, again flat part, the glacier is usually called Bas Glacier d'Arolla . This flows a little more than 1 km to the north and ends with its glacier tongue at currently 2160 m above sea level. The Borgne d'Arolla rises here , which later joins the Borgne de Ferpècle and flows through the Val d'Hérens to the Rhone .

In the valley east of Mont Collon is the Haut Glacier d'Arolla, which is 4 km long and up to 1 km wide and covers an area of ​​approximately 5 km². It has its origin at 3200 m above sea level. M. north of Mont Brulé (3585 m above sea level). Then it flows with a steady gradient of 12 to 15% first to the northwest, later to the north, bordered by Mont Collon in the west and the Bouquetins (up to 3838 m above sea level) in the east. The glacier tongue is currently at 2550 m above sea level. M., around 1 km before the ice stream of Bas Glacier d'Arolla.

At the height of the Little Ice Age around the middle of the 19th century and into the 20th century, the two glaciers formed a coherent system. During its greatest expansion in modern times, the Bas Glacier d'Arolla reached almost 2 km further down the valley and ended only a little behind the present-day resort of Arolla .

To the east of the upper Arolla glacier at the foot of the Bouquetins is the Refuge des Bouquetins .

Web links

Commons : Arolla Glacier  - album with pictures, videos and audio files