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The Pindari Glacier is a
Several surveys have mapped the retreat of Pindari over the years. The glacier was first surveyed by G.de P.Cotter in 1906. A 1958 survey by Amber P Tiwari and Jangpangi in connection with International Geophysical Year, recorded a retreat of in the fifty two years since 1906. A 1966 survey recorded a further retreat of and discovered that a branch of the glacier, the Chhanguch branch, had separated and formed a separate ice shelf. As a result of the separation, the glacier lost several thousand cubic meters of ice. Recent studies have shown that the glacier has retreated an additional 1,569.01 meters between 1976 and 2014, possibly because of climate change.
This accelerating retreat, along with the retreat of other Himalayan glaciers, is likely to have an adverse impact on agriculture in the entire Ganges region since the Pindar river feeds the Alaknanda river, a headstream of the
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 ...
found in the upper reaches of the Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to:
* Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran
* , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII
See also
...
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...
, to the southeast of Nanda Devi
Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world.
Nanda Devi was consi ...
and Nanda Kot
Nanda Kot ( Kumaoni-नन्दा कोट) is a mountain peak of the Himalaya range located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. It lies in the Kumaon Himalaya, just outside the ring of peaks enclosing the Nanda ...
.
Geography
The glacier is about 9 kilometers long and gives rise to thePindar River
The Pindar River is a river located in Uttarakhand, India. Pindar originates from Pindari Glacier which is located in Bageshwar district of Kumaon region in Uttarakhand. The source of this river, the Pindar glacier is located at an altitude o ...
which meets the Alakananda
The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the source stream ...
at Karnaprayag
Karnaprayag is a town and municipal board in the Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Karnaprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Pindar River.
Dem ...
in the Garhwal Garhwal may refer to the following topics associated with Uttarakhand, India:
Places
*Garhwal Himalaya, a sub-range of the Himalayas
*Garhwal Kingdom, a former kingdom
*Garhwal District (British Garhwal), a former district of British India
*Garh ...
district.
The trail to reach the glacier crosses the villages of Saung, Loharkhet, crosses over the Dhakuri Pass, continues onto Khati village (the last inhabited village on the trail), Dwali, Phurkia and finally Zero Point, Pindar, the end of the trail. Though most of the trail is along the banks of the Pindari River, the river is mostly hidden until after Khati.
The Pindari Glacier trail provides for a round-trip trek that most people find comfortable to complete in 6 days. The Pindari Glacier is also famous for other adventure sports like Ice climbing and Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
.
Retreat
Several surveys have mapped the retreat of Pindari over the years. The glacier was first surveyed by G.de P.Cotter in 1906. A 1958 survey by Amber P Tiwari and Jangpangi in connection with International Geophysical Year, recorded a retreat of in the fifty two years since 1906. A 1966 survey recorded a further retreat of and discovered that a branch of the glacier, the Chhanguch branch, had separated and formed a separate ice shelf. As a result of the separation, the glacier lost several thousand cubic meters of ice. Recent studies have shown that the glacier has retreated an additional 1,569.01 meters between 1976 and 2014, possibly because of climate change.
This accelerating retreat, along with the retreat of other Himalayan glaciers, is likely to have an adverse impact on agriculture in the entire Ganges region since the Pindar river feeds the Alaknanda river, a headstream of the Ganges
The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...
.
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 ...
* Kafni Glacier
The Kafni Glacier is located in the upper reaches of the Kumaon Himalayas, to the southeast of Nanda Devi. The glacier gives rise to the Kafni River, which is a tributary of the Pindar River. The Pindar River is a tributary to Alaknanda River, ...
References
Hiking trails in Uttarakhand Glaciers of Uttarakhand Geography of Pithoragarh district {{India-glacier-stub