Perito Moreno: Glacier lies

We were in front of the Perito Moreno glacier, undoubtedly the most amazing glacier world. This is a huge tongue of ice two miles wide coming down from the ice fields on the southern Andes, Lago Argentino cutting as it would have dreamed of escaping from Egypt Moses.

A huge block came off with a roar of thunder reverberated through the walls of the mountains; falling up a wave that swept the coast with force and threw pieces of ice by air. A group of Italian tourists applauded and several hard eyes looked glassy with emotion to see that nature is alive.

We were in front of the glacier Perito Moreno, undoubtedly the most amazing glacier world. This is a huge tongue of ice two miles wide coming down from the ice fields on the southern Andes, cutting Lago Argentino as he had dreamed Moses to escape from Egypt, to stop a few meters from the runway where the tourists never tire of taking pictures. If not for these, every so often would probably regret some dead, because until the sixties more than thirty people died victims of the tips of ice breaking every major hard throwing unexpected.
I traveled to the place on the pretext of ascertaining whether the glacier advanced and retreated, in an area where, general, ice is clearly in decline. Not so long ago it was discovered and a lack of reliable historical information.

After strolling through the place I took my wife to the starting point of the walk by the ice. I would not go because my seven year old son was not old enough; so I stay with him in the surrounding forest taking pictures of birds, abundant in the place.

There is considerable controversy over who was the discoverer of this vast natural wonder. The obvious thing is to think he did himself Perito Francisco Moreno, but everything indicates that it was not. "¿Cómo that the?”, someone would tell me "If your books mention!”. As a writer of historical novels that interest those little anecdotes, I set to mark each location on a map of your route that Moreno mentions in his book "Trip to Patagonia Austral. The man was, certainly, the first to sail on Lake Argentino, But even though the issue is spinning, Moreno path made it impossible for him to have seen this or any other glacier in the lake. However, in his book mentions seeing a glacier (as told to the glaciers at that time) having a huge break that freed dozens of icebergs in the waters. The only thing I think is certain is that Moreno had seen an iceberg that would give the pattern of a nearby glacier but between travel and "her" drift rose a mountain; would have been impossible. I had already found several faults with the truth of this and other browsers, so I did not pay attention. But why lied? Surely it was one of his "lies" patriotic. At that time, Chile and Argentina fought over the Patagonia and scans were acts of sovereignty, was discovered to own something.

Moreno made his journey 1877 and his book was published just three years later. In the meantime a Chilean deputy called strong>Rogers left the Chilean Punta Arenas. He describes finding a huge glacier across a lake of deep blue. No doubt that was the Perito Moreno glacier. So how to explain what Moreno? There appears my grain a novelist. I imagine that before the publication Moreno will have heard of the discovery Chilean Argentine territory considered, otherwise he had to explore. If it was true that the discovery would be useless Chile have called Lago Argentino with that name so patriotic and that at least part, the glacier, could be claimed by Chile. So I imagine Moreno apocryphally inserting in his diary, before publication, a phrase that will serve to assert that he, an Argentinean, was the first to see.

Why did you lie? Surely it was one of his "lies" patriotic. At that time, Chile and Argentina fought over the Patagonia and scans were acts of sovereignty, was discovered to own something

After three hours I returned to the pier where my wife was waiting for me, excited by the spectacular hiking on the ice mass. With the truck still way to where I was told that he was an abandoned estancia. This was related to the question of whether or not the glacier retreats. It turns out that every so often, sometimes four times every ten years to, completely cut off the glacier lake. When this happens, south arm, dammed by the glacier but it continues to receive water from the mountains, begins to raise the water level . The first time this event was documented 1917. At that time the water rose more than twenty meters until, after two years, could break the wall of ice that trapped. That year the room in question was under water and had to be evacuated. Settlers, settled only ten years ago, had never seen anything like. We found the abandoned houses but also found a dead thicket, drowned in the icy waters. Several of the trees had at least eighty years old when they succumbed, which means that at least since 1840 water had not risen. Ie in 1917 cut glacier lake for the first time in eighty years. This proves the Perito Moreno glacier is about the only area that, despite global warming, not reverse in the last one hundred and fifty years. To be quite sure I needed to see some old photograph that showed the position of the ice front.
In the nearby village of El Calafate I contacted the people of the Historical Archives, but they said they did not have before photos 1917. I suggested to search for images of the first binational boundary commission, the 1904, which established the border and left the Perito Moreno Argentine side.
Two months later, in the Library of National Congress, in Buenos Aires, I found the only edition of Robert Holdich, English by the commission. His book was incredibly boring but I was looking for in its pages the answer to my question: Does it grow or reverses the Perito Moreno? Fortunately one of its pages I found a small photo of a glacier, not clarify which. His forehead was ice in the middle of the lake, but comparing the background of mountains with my photos certifies that was the same. A smile lit up my face. This unknown book into a dark room the library had just told me that the Perito Moreno was healthy. In the last hundred years had moved from the center of the lake to its east coast no less than seven hundred meters!
He also smiled at the memory of Francisco Moreno. His lies patriotic, that would be the subject of my novel "The limit of Lies", had earned the great glacier named after him.

Contacto@GerardoBartolome.com
Gerardo Bartolomé traveler and writer is. To learn more about him and his work go to www.GerardoBartolome.com

Notify new comments
Notify
guest

9 Comments
Online comments
See all comments
Here's the way0
You have not added products yet.
Continue browsing
0
Go to content