Perito Moreno Glacier

I am a giant, slow-moving river made of sparkling ice. I live high in the mountains of Patagonia, in a country called Argentina. All day long, I creak, groan, and rumble as I slide just a little bit. Sometimes, big pieces of me break off and fall into the chilly lake below with a giant SPLASH. My ice isn't white like a snowman you might build in your yard. It’s a magical, glowing blue that shines in the sun. Before you even know my name, you can hear my crackling voice and feel my icy breath on the wind. I am a wonder of nature. I am the Perito Moreno Glacier.

My story didn't start yesterday. For thousands and thousands of years, snowflake after snowflake fell from the sky and piled up on top of each other. They got squished together so tightly that they turned into the heavy, powerful ice I am today. I am always moving, but so slowly you can’t see it, just a tiny bit each day on my journey down the mountain. A long time ago, in the late 1870s, a brave explorer came to see me. His name was Francisco Moreno, and people called him ‘Perito,’ which means ‘expert,’ because he was so smart about exploring nature. He thought I was amazing. In the year 1899, the people of Argentina decided to name me after him, to thank him for telling the world about the wonders of this land.

Every few years, I do something very special that people travel from all over to see. As I slowly creep forward, I stretch all the way across the water of Lake Argentino until I touch the land on the other side. I become a giant wall of ice. The water from the river gets trapped behind me, and it pushes and pushes with all its might. Finally, all that pushing becomes too much for my ice bridge to handle. With a thunderous CRACK and a tremendous CRASH, my ice wall breaks apart. This big event is called a rupture. It’s my way of putting on a spectacular show for everyone watching. It's not scary; it's just me showing the awesome power of nature.

Because I am so special, people wanted to keep me and my home safe forever. On May 11th, 1937, the land all around me was turned into a beautiful park called Los Glaciares National Park. Then, in 1981, people from all over the world agreed that my home was a treasure. They named it a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means it’s one of the most important natural places on Earth. Today, visitors come from far and wide. They stand on walkways to watch me sparkle, listen to my icy song, and wait for my big splashes. I am a living piece of the Ice Age, and I hope I can remind everyone how wonderful and powerful our planet is for many years to come.