Perito Moreno Glacier

CRACK. SPLASH. Do you hear that big sound. It is me, saying hello in the sunshine. I am made of bright white and sparkly blue ice. I live in a very cold and beautiful place called Patagonia, where the mountains are tall and the lakes are chilly. The sun makes me glitter and shine all day long. I am a giant river of ice that moves very slowly. I am the Perito Moreno Glacier.

My story started a long, long time ago, when I was just a tiny snowflake. Then another snowflake fell, and another, and another. So many snowflakes piled up on top of each other. They hugged so tightly that they all squeezed together and turned into hard, sparkly ice. That is how I was made. I move very, very slowly, like a sleepy snail. One day, a friendly explorer came to see me. His name was Francisco Moreno. He visited me on a chilly day, on February 15th, 1877. He thought I was so wonderful that he told everyone about me. That is how I got my special name.

Today, lots of friends come to visit me. They ride in boats to see me up close, or they walk on special paths to wave hello. Sometimes, I wave back. I stretch and creak, and then a big piece of my ice falls into the water with a giant SPLASH. It looks like I am dropping a big ice cube into the lake. This is my way of saying hi. I am a happy part of our big, amazing world. I am here to show you how wonderful nature is and to remind you to keep exploring.