Pasterze Glacier

Pasterze Glacier

Pasterze and Johannisberg in 2009
Type Mountain glacier
Location Grossglockner, Austria
Coordinates 47°5′8″N 12°43′24″E / 47.08556°N 12.72333°E / 47.08556; 12.72333
Area 18.5 km2 (7.2 sq mi) (2002)
Length about 8.4 km (5.2 mi) (2002)
Thickness about 120 m (400 ft)
Highest elevation 3450 m
Lowest elevation 2100 m
Terminus Talus
Status Retreating

The Pasterze (Slovenian Pastirica, shepherdess), at approximately 8.4 kilometers (5.2 mi) in length, is the longest glacier in Austria and in the Eastern Alps reaching from the 3,453-metre (11,329 ft) Johannisberg to 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) above sea level. It lies within the Hohe Tauern mountain range in Carinthia, directly beneath Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner. The Pasterze can be reached via the Grossglockner High Alpine Road and a funicular railway.

Pasterze and Grossglockner pyramid in 1900
The funicular from the Grossglockner High Alpine Road.

The length of the glacier currently decreases about 10 m (33 ft) each year. Its volume diminished by half since the first measurements in 1851.

See also

External links

Coordinates: 47°05′08″N 12°43′24″E / 47.08556°N 12.72333°E / 47.08556; 12.72333


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