Barranco Glacier (once known as the Great Barranco Glacier) is near the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, on the southwest slope of the peak and is a small remnant of an icecap which once crowned the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.[1] The glacier is situated at an elevation of between 5,200 and 4,800 metres (17,100 and 15,700 ft).[2] The Great Barranco Glacier was far larger when first documented in the late 19th century and it along with the now extinct Little Barranco Glacier may have been fed by the Furtwängler Glacier which is on the top of the mountain. By 2011, Barranco Glacier was reduced to two small disconnected and dormant ice bodies.[3]

Barranco Glacier
NASA image from 2004 with locations of major glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro. Barranco Glacier is not notated but is seen as a snowfield to the left of Diamond Glacier. Click on image to expand.
Map showing the location of Barranco Glacier
Map showing the location of Barranco Glacier
Barranco Glacier
Map showing the location of Barranco Glacier
Map showing the location of Barranco Glacier
Barranco Glacier
TypeMountain glacier
LocationMount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Coordinates03°04′26″S 37°20′27″E / 3.07389°S 37.34083°E / -3.07389; 37.34083
TerminusTalus
StatusRetreating, possibly extinct
Map

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Young, James A.T. (1991). "Glaciers of the Middle East and Africa - Glaciers of Africa" (PDF). U. S. Geological Survey. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  2. ^ Singh, Vijay P., ed. (July 1, 2011). Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers (2011 ed.). Springer. p. 676. ISBN 978-9048126415. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  3. ^ N. J. Cullen; P. Sirguey; T. M¨olg; G. Kaser; M. Winkler; S. J. Fitzsimons (2013). "A century of ice retreat on Kilimanjaro: the mapping reloaded" (PDF). The Cryosphere. 7 (2): 419–431. doi:10.5194/tc-7-419-2013.