Jostedal Glacier or is the largest
glacier
A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...
in continental
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. It is in
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...
county in
Western Norway
Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...
.
Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of
Luster,
Sogndal
Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other vill ...
,
Sunnfjord
Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland counties of Norway, county. It includes the List of municipalities of Norway, municipalities of As ...
, and
Stryn
Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of ...
. The highest peak in the area is
Lodalskåpa at a height of .
History
In 1906, work was being done on
footpath
A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...
s that could accommodate tourists.
Geography
The Jostedal Glacier has a total area of . The highest point is
Høgste Breakulen at above
mean sea level
There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set.
For a data set, the '' ...
. Branches of the glacier reach down into the valleys, for instance
Bøyabreen in
Fjærland and
Nigardsbreen, both at above sea level. The thickest part of the glacier is . Jostedalsbreen has a length of a little more than and it is a part of the
Jostedalsbreen National Park, which was established in 1991. The glacier covers over half of the national park.
The glacier is maintained by the high snowfall rates in the region, not the cold temperatures. This means the glacier has high melting rates in its
snout
A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is ...
s. The Jostedalsbreen has around 50 glacier arms such as the
Nigardsbreen and
Tunsbergdalsbreen in
Jostedal, the
Briksdalsbreen near
Olden
Olden may refer to:
Places
*Olden, Norway, a village in Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway
*Olden, Missouri, an unincorporated community
*Olden, Texas, a community in Eastland county, Texas, USA
People
*Charles Smith Olden, an American polit ...
, the
Bøyabreen by
Fjærland, the
Kjenndalsbreen,
Tindefjellbreen near
Loen, and
Austerdalsbreen.
In 2012, the glacier arm
Briksdalsbreen lost of ice in a few months. More recent measurements now show that Briksdalsbreen retreated in 2006, and could be in danger of breaking away from the upper icefield. Ice climbing has now been terminated because of this event.
See also
*
List of glaciers
A glacier ( ) or () is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly defo ...
*
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Mapat
SNL.noJostedalsbreen National Park CentreJostedal Glacier National ParkDirectorate for Nature Management - National Parks
Glaciers of Vestland
Sogndal
Sunnfjord
Luster, Norway
Stryn
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