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On Munt Pers, at 2900 m.a.s.l., at sunrise: Long glaciers which descend through a mountain valley, such as Vadret Pers [1] and Vadret da Morteratsch [2] are called valley glaciers. Mountain glaciers [3], on the other hand, are smaller and do not have a prominent tongue. Mountain glaciers in a hollow in the side of a mountain, a so-called cirque, are called cirque glaciers [4]. Beneath the icefall [5], Vadret da Morteratsch forms ogives [6], transverse light and dark structures across the glacier. They reflect the annual movement of the ice: one ogive corresponds to one year's ice flow. As the glacier is fastest in the middle, ogives get bent more and more as they travel down the glacier. |