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The Géant Glacier () is a large
Geant Glacier on French IGN mapping portal
Glaciers of Metropolitan France Glaciers of the Alps {{France-glacier-stub
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
on the French side of the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
. It is the main supplier of ice (via the Vallée Blanche) to the Mer de Glace
The Mer de Glace (, ) is a valley glacier located on the northern slopes of the Mont Blanc massif, in the French Alps. It is 7.5 km long and deep but, when all its tributary glaciers are taken into account, it can be regarded as the longe ...
which flows down towards Montenvers. It gets its name from the nearby Dent du Géant
The Dent du Géant ( It.: Dente del Gigante, "giant's tooth") (4,013 m) is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in France and Italy.
The Dent du Géant remained unclimbed during the golden age of alpinism, and was a much-coveted peak in the 18 ...
.
Access
It is possible to take theVallée Blanche Cable Car
The Vallée Blanche Cable Car (; , previously ) is a passenger cable car linking a mountain peak above Courmayeur (Italy) to a peak above Chamonix (France) by passing over the Mont Blanc massif, in the Alps. The engineering was developed by Vit ...
which travels right over the Géant Glacier, from the Aiguille du Midi
The Aiguille du Midi (, "Needle at midday") is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif within the French Alps. It is a popular tourist destination and can be directly accessed by cable car from Chamonix that takes visitors close to Mont Blanc.
Ca ...
in France, to Pointe Helbronner
Pointe Helbronner () is a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif in the Graian Alps on the watershed between France and Italy.
The peak, which used to be a mere geodetic reference point, was named after Paul Helbronner, a French '' polytechnicien'' ...
on the Italian/French border. Experienced skiers also have an "outstanding attraction" in the challenging run from the Aiguille du Midi telepherique station, down the Vallée Blanche and onto the Géant Glacier then, avoiding the Seracs du Géant, merging onto the Mer du Glace to reach the resort of Montenvers
Early studies
In 1862, the physicist and mountaineerJohn Tyndall
John Tyndall (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was an Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the physical properties of air ...
gave a series of lectures to the Royal Institution
The Royal Institution of Great Britain (often the Royal Institution, Ri or RI) is an organisation for scientific education and research, based in the City of Westminster. It was founded in 1799 by the leading British scientists of the age, inc ...
in which he reported on his studies into heat as a form of motion. By placing lines of stakes upon the ice, he made numerous measurements of ice flow from the Géant Glacier and surrounding glaciers into the Mer de Glace. He subsequently published further accounts in his 'Glaciers of the Alps.
Further reading
* Tyndall, J. (1860?) Glaciers of the AlpsReferences
External links
Geant Glacier on French IGN mapping portal
Glaciers of Metropolitan France Glaciers of the Alps {{France-glacier-stub