Perito Moreno Glacier
 

The Perito Moreno Glacier was named after an Argentinian explorer Francisco Moreno.  The glacier covers a total of 100 square miles, the glacier is 3 miles wide and rises 256 feet above Lake Argentino. The greatest depth measured was approximately 2,2297 feet.  It is one of 48 glaciers that comprise the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. 

​

The Perito Moreno glacier is the third largest reserve of fresh water on the planet, surpassed only by the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets.  Scientists calculate that the Perito Moreno glacier is approximately 18,000 years old. 

​

The Perito Moreno glacier is one of only three glaciers in the world that grows rather than retreats. For reasons yet to be fully understood by glaciologists, the glacier not only grows at an average rate of two meters (almost 7 feet) per day, but also loses a proportional amount of mass each day, ensuring that the equilibrium of the glacier’s mass and size remains consistent year-round.

​

In 1981, UNESCO declared Los Glaciares National Park (Parque Nacional Los Glaciares) a World Heritage Site. The Perito Moreno glacier is considered by many to be the 8th wonder of the world.