Glacier

• Glaciers are a mass of ice that forms in areas where snow accumulation exceeds its ablation over many years.
• They are sensitive indicators of changing climate.
• Glaciers are generally seen in the snowfields.
• Glaciers cover around 10% of the land surface of the Earth.
• Out of the total water on Earth, 2.1% is in glaciers while 97.2% is in the oceans and inland seas.
• Glaciers form in conditions where mean annual temperatures are close to the freezing point and winter precipitation produces significant accumulations of snow.
• According to the topography and location, glaciers can be categorized as Mountain Glacier (Alpine Glaciers) or Continental Glacier (Ice Sheets).
• Alpine glaciers are formed on the mountainsides and usually move downwards through the valleys.
• Ice sheets form broad domes and usually spread out in all directions.
• Continental glaciers are the largest ice sheets and cover most of Antarctica and islands of Greenland.

Geographical Location of Glaciers

• 91% of the Glaciers are in Antarctica and 8% are in Greenland. They occupy about 10% of the world’s total land area.
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Important Glaciers in India

Name	State	Mountain Range
Batura Glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Khurdopin Glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Hispar Glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Biafo Glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Baltoro Glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Chomolungma glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Khurdapin glacier	Ladakh	Karakoram
Godwin Austen	Ladakh	Karakoram
Trango Glacier	Ladakh	Karakoram
Chong Kumdan	Ladakh	Karakoram
Diamir Glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Siachen Glacier	Jammu & Kashmir	Karakoram Mountain Range
Bara Shigri Glacier	Himachal Pradesh	Pir Panjal Range of the Inner Himalayas.
Chhota Shigri Glacier	Himachal Pradesh	Pir Panjal
Sonapani Glacier	Himachal Pradesh	Pir Panjal
Rakhiot Glacier	Ladakh	Pir Panjal
Gangotri Glacier	Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand	Himalayas
Bandarpunch Glacier	Uttarakhand	Western edge of the high Himalayan range
Milam Glacier	Uttarakhand	Trishul peak of  Pithoragarh
Pindari glacier	Nanda Devi, Uttarakhand	Upper reaches of the Kumaon Himalayas
Kafni Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Kalabaland Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Kedar Bamak Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Meola Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Namik Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Panchchuli Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Ralam Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Sona Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Satopanth Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Sunderdhunga Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Dokriani Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Chorabari Glacier	Uttarakhand	Kumaon-Garhwal
Zemu Glacier	Sikkim	Eastern Himalaya Located on Kanchenjunga peak
Kanchenjunga Glacier	Sikkim	Eastern Himalaya

Glaciers in Himalayas

• There are approximately 15,000 glaciers in the Himalayas.
• The total area of the Himalayas is about 500,000 square kilometres.
• Around 33,000 square kilometres of the Himalayas are covered by snow.
• The snow line, which is the lowest level of perpetual snow, varies in different parts of the Himalayas.
• The variation in the snow line depends upon latitude, amount of precipitation, and local topography.
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• Glaciers of the Karakoram Range:
  • Maximum development of glaciers occurs in this range.
  • Some of the largest glaciers outside the polar and sub-polar regions are found here.
  • The southern side of this range has many gigantic glaciers.
  • The Siachen Glacier in Nubra valley is 75 km long and is the second-largest glacier outside the polar and sub-polar regions.
  • The Fedchenko Glacier (Pamirs) is the largest, at 77 km long.
  • The Hispar Glacier is the third-largest, at 62 km long and occupies a tributary of the Hunza River.
• Glaciers of the Pir Panjal Range:
  • The glaciers of this range are less numerous and smaller in size compared to those of the Karakoram Range.
  • The longest Sonapani Glacier in the Chandra Valley of Lahul and Spiti region is only 15 km long.
• Glaciers of the Kumaon-Garhwal Region:
  • The largest glacier in this region is the Gangotri Glacier, which is 30 km long and is the source of the Ganga River.
• Glaciers of Central Nepal:
  • The major glaciers in this region are the Zemu and the Kanchenjunga glaciers.

Gangotri Glacier:

• Largest glacier in Uttarakhand.
• Source of the Ganges (River Bhagirathi).
• Originates at the northern slope of Chaukhamba range of peaks in Garhwal Himalayas.
• Gangotri is not a single valley glacier, but a combination of several other glaciers.
• The concentration of black carbon on the Gangotri Glacier has doubled compared to past years due to agricultural burning and forest fires in nearby regions.
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Siachen Glacier:

• Second largest glacier outside the polar and sub-polar regions.
• Located over the Karakoram Range in the Nubra Valley.
• Lolofond and Teram Shehr are its main tributaries.
• Disputed between India and Pakistan.
• Highest battlefield in the world.

Fedchenko Glacier:

• Largest glacier after the Siachen.
• Located in the Yazgulem Range, Pamir Mountains, of north-central Gorno-Badakhshan province, Tajikistan.
• Covers an area of 450 sq. km in the northwestern Pamir and has nearly 550m deep ice.

Hispar Glacier:

• Third largest glacier of the Karakoram region, occupying a tributary of the Hunza River.
• Combines with Biafo Glacier occupying about 65 sq. km area of Braldoh Valley.
• Kunyong/Lak (24 km) is an important tributary of Hispar.
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Biafo Glacier:

• Located between Hispar and Baltoro glaciers, occupying the Braldoh Valley.
• 4th largest glacier of the Karakoram region.
• Occupies the valley of the Gori Ganga River.
• Formed by the union of nine glaciers.

Pindari Glacier:

• Located to the south of the Nanda Devi in northeast Uttarakhand.
• Source of the Pindar River.
• Located in the upper reaches of the Kumaon Himalayas.
• Provides a 90 km round trip trek.

Rongbuck Glacier:

• Located on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest.
• Largest glacier outside the Karakoram region.
• Famous Rongbuck Monastery is located at the northern end of the Rongbuck Valley.
• Explored by Englishman George Mallory while searching for possible routes to the summit of Mount Everest.

Zemu Glacier:

• Flows in an easterly direction at the head of the Zemu River.
• About one kilometer wide and 180m thick.
• Largest glacier of the Eastern Himalayas, covering 26 km.
• Found at the base of the Kanchenjunga.
• One of the possible sources of the Teesta River.

Baltoro Glacier:

• A 65 km long glacier located over the Karakoram range, west of the Siachen Glacier.
• Gives rise to the Shigar River, a tributary of the Indus River.
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