Los Glaciares National Park, World Heritage Site in Argentina

Patagonia is located at the southern end of the Andes Mountains. Near the Chilean border is Los Glaciares National Park, which consists of rugged mountains and many glacial lakes. The park’s ice sheet belongs to the third largest glacial area in the world after Antarctica and Greenland, and is famous for its three gigantic glaciers, which glow blue-white due to the clear ice and have a unique landscape.

Here, a World Heritage enthusiast explains why Los Glaciares National Park is a World Heritage Site in an easy-to-understand manner. Read this and you will definitely learn more about Los Glaciares National Park!

What is Los Glaciares National Park? Famous for the Perito Moreno Glacier?

Patagonia is a vast area in the southern Andes that consists of Chile to the west and Argentina to the east. Los Glaciares National Park is located in the southwestern part of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina, near the Chilean border.

The word “Glaciares” means “glacier group” in Spanish, derived from the glaciers that cover half of the park. They are included in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, which straddles Chile and Argentina and is the third largest glacier area in the world after Antarctica and Greenland.

There are several glaciers in the park, with 48 large ones and more than 200 smaller ones scattered throughout the park. Three of the largest are Perito Moreno Glacier, Uppsala Glacier, and Spegazzini Glacier. The glaciers have been compressed for so long that they become transparent as they lose most of their air and absorb light, resulting in glistening blue ice. The temperature in the area is relatively high compared to Antarctica and Greenland, and the spectacle of glaciers collapsing in the summer and falling into the sea with a roaring sound is all too famous.

Major registered properties

Perito Moreno Glacier

The most famous glacier in the park.It is known as the most active glacier, moving at a rate of 600 to 800 meters per year, while most glaciers move only a few meters per year. In summer, its tip can be seen collapsing from the observation deck, and it is also a glacier that attracts many tourists.

Uppsala Glacier

The largest glacier in the park.It flows from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field to Lake Argentino, a distance of about 60 km, and is called Uppsala Glacier because it was studied by Uppsala University in Sweden.

What makes Los Glaciares National Park a World Heritage Site?

Los Glaciares National Park was recognized for

Registration Criteria (vii)
The park means that in addition to the rugged mountains, the vast glacier, the third largest in the world, is a magnet for people.

Registration Criteria (viii)
During the Quaternary period (about 2.6 million years ago to the present), glaciers repeatedly expanded and contracted here, and the land was cut down to form valleys and moraines (landforms formed by the rising of soil cut by glaciers), which are examples of landforms that have been greatly affected by glaciation.

World Heritage Mania Conclusion and Impressions

It is the third largest glacier area in the world, surrounded by steep mountains, and the glaciers crashing down into the lake with a sound is a rare sight in the world. The glaciers have carved the land and created moraines, large valleys, and other unique landforms.

And while glaciers are shrinking rapidly due to global warming, Perito Moreno Glacier, Uppsala Glacier, and Spegazzini Glacier are the only glaciers that have not decreased in size and continue to move.

*This is a discussion based on research conducted by World Heritage enthusiasts.As for the data, interpretation differs depending on the medium.