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The Northern Patagonian Ice Field, located in southern
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the
Patagonian Ice Sheet upright=1.4, Map showing the extent of the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Strait of Magellan area during the last glacial period. Selected modern settlements are shown with yellow dots. Sea level was much lower than shown here. The Patagonian Ice S ...
in the
Andes Mountains The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
of southern South America can be divided. It is completely contained within the boundaries of
Laguna San Rafael National Park Laguna San Rafael National Park () is a park located on the Pacific coast of southern Chile. The park is named for the San Rafael Lagoon formed by the retreat of the San Rafael Glacier. Created in 1959, it covers an area of and includes the Nort ...
.


Description

The Northern Patagonian Ice Field is a vestige of the
Patagonian Ice Sheet upright=1.4, Map showing the extent of the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Strait of Magellan area during the last glacial period. Selected modern settlements are shown with yellow dots. Sea level was much lower than shown here. The Patagonian Ice S ...
, an extensive
ice sheet In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland; during the Last Glacial Period at L ...
that covered all of Chilean Patagonia and the westernmost parts of Argentine Patagonia during the Quaternary glaciations. Today, with its glaciers largely in retreat and only an area of , it is still the second largest continuous mass of ice outside of the polar regions. Its survival depends on its elevation (), favorable terrain and a cool, moist, oceanic climate. The ice field has 28 exit glaciers, the largest two — San Quintin and San Rafael — nearly reach sea level to the west at the Pacific Ocean. Smaller exit glaciers, like San Valentín and Nef, feed numerous rivers and glacially carved lakes to the east.
Eric Shipton Eric Earle Shipton, CBE (1 August 1907 – 28 March 1977), was an English Himalayan mountaineer. Early years Shipton was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1907 where his father, a tea planter, died before he was three years old. When he was eigh ...
accompanied by Spaniard Miguel Gómez and Chileans Eduardo García and Cedomir Marangunic crossed the icecap from the San Raphael Glacier into Argentina in the summer of 1963–64. In 1972/73 a Joint Services expedition led by Captain CH Agnew of Lochnaw yr, now
Sir Crispin Agnew of Lochnaw Sir Crispin Hamlyn Agnew of Lochnaw, 11th Baronet, (born 13 May 1944) is a Scottish advocate, herald and former explorer. He is the chief of the ancient Agnew family, and the eleventh holder of the Agnew baronetcy, created in 1629. Agnew is th ...
, spent 5 months carrying out scientific research on and around the ice cap, including on the Benito Glacier, and three members of the expedition carried out a north-to-south crossing from the foot of
Monte San Valentín Monte San Valentin, also known as Monte San Clemente, is the highest mountain in Chilean Patagonia and the highest mountain south of 37°S outside Antarctica. It stands at the north end of the North Patagonian Icefield. Monte San Valentin ca ...
down to the snout of the Steffen Glacier. Martin Session, the glaciologist on the 1972/3 expedition returned to the Benito Glacier with others in 2007 and 2011 to continue his research. The Northern Patagonian Ice Field lies in fault-bounded crustal block that has been uplifted. To the west lies the Liquiñe-Ofqui Fault Zone, to the north the Exploradores Fault Zone and to the east the
Cachet Fault Cachet Fault is a dextral strike-slip fault in Aysén Region, Chile. The fault runs in north–south direction right to the east of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field. Various west-east glacial valleys have been displaced the movement of the fault. T ...
. To the south there is possibly a zone of extensional faults around
Tortel Fjord Tortel Fjord ( es, Fiordo de Tortel) is an inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Chile's Aysén Region. The village of Caleta Tortel is located at the head of fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or ...
.


See also

*
Southern Patagonian Ice Field The Southern Patagonian Ice Field ( es, Hielo Continental or '), located at the Southern Patagonic Andes between Chile and Argentina, is the world's second largest contiguous extrapolar ice field. It is the bigger of two remnant parts of the Pa ...
* List of glaciers


References

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External links


Northern Patagonian Ice Field, Earth
{{Authority control Glaciers of Aysén Region Ice fields of South America