Miage Glacier
Miage Glacier is a debris-covered glacier in northwestern Italy. It is situated on the southwest flank of the Mont Blanc Massif, flowing from Col de Bionnassay (3892m above sea level) into Val Veny in the extreme northwest of Italy. It is Italy's longest glacier at a length of roughly 10km and the largest debris-covered glacier in Europe.[1] Approximately 5km2 of its total area of ~11km2 is covered in debris originating primarily in rockfall from surrounding walls[2] and avalanching in accumulation areas of its four tributaries.[3] Debris carried along within the glacier, however, is also being exposed at accelerating rates due to accelerating thinning of the glacier tongue.[3]
The number of sources of supraglacial debris as well as the unusual, mica schist-dominated lithology of the rock walls surrounding the glacier, makes for a varied debris lithology; debris cover becomes continuous at ~2400m asl and remains unbroken to the terminus. Patchy areas can occur, however, where crevasses or moulins occur.[3] Debris thickness generally increases from a few cm at 2400m asl to over 1m at the terminus at ~1775m asl, although the spatial distribution of thicknesses is inhomogenous especially on parts of the northern terminal lobe.[4]
Miage Lake
Miage Lake is an ice-contact lake near the southern end of Miage Glacier, located on the outside of the glacier's 90-degree bend eastwards[3]. It is a popular tourist attraction due, among others, to the spectacular ice cliffs rising up to one side and its two-coloured nature. The colours reflect varying sediment concentrations in the water which arise due to the filtering effect of the debris[5].
Huge ice blocks have been known to break off the glacier and fall into the lake, providing another major tourist attraction despite the low absolute likelihood of such an even occurring. On August 7, 1996, a particularly large block, estimated to have had a volume of 7000-16000m3, fell into the lake causing an abnormally large wave which seriously wounded several people [6].
References
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|doi=10.1029/2009JD013224instead. - ^ http://www.swisseduc.ch/glaciers/alps/miage/index-en.html?id=7
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