World Map Argentina San Juan Province Iglesia Department
Ice Pinnacles on Paso Agua Negra Road
Selected for Google Earth [?] - ID: 47086385
These Ice pinnacles start as a solid glacier or snow field.
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At this location the slowly moving ice compound eats a part of the international road between Argentina and Chile every winter. Therefore a caterpillar has to cut through the glacier every spring to free this short stretch of road from its solid winter ice cover.
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The lower ice pack cut off from the glacier is usually between 1.5 and 3 meters (5 to 10 ft) thick. At this altitude - more than 4000 meters high - and below freezing temperatures the sun starts to sublimate (not melt) the ice during the day. Some spots loose a bit more ice and start to form shallow pits. The bottom of the hollow receives more radiation than the walls each day leaving the walls mostly intact but making the dells grow deeper and deeper until they reach the plain earth at the bottom. Several pits may merge until some free standing blades remain oriented towards the general direction of the sun.
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At this place the penitentes are about man's size, but can reach up to 6 meters (18ft) when grown out of larger ice or snow fields.
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The first one to describe the penitentes was Charles Darwin when making an excursion into the Andes on his historic journey where he developed the idea of the evolution of species. He must be in good humour when naming the ice blades penitentes (those who perform the Catholic Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession).
More photos by zerega
Photo taken in Iglesia Department - San Juan Province, Argentina
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- Uploaded on January 25, 2011
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by zerega
Comments (35)
trester88 (Wilhelm), on July 17, 2011, said:
Unusual scenery!
LIKE!
Greetings from Germany, Wilhelm
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Hugo Lopez, on July 26, 2011, said:
Hermoso lugar y mejor foto, Zerega. Ah! Cordillera con sus tonos dorados. Like & fav. Un gran abrazo desde Rivera, Uruguay
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helki, on August 27, 2011, said:
Hello zerega!
At first, I want to thank you, following my invitation to the Karakorum Highway group! I'ts a pleasure to me, and I think, your photography work will revaluate this collection a lot.
This picture from the agua negra region is really splendid! Great ice needles! L22 and another YS11.
Have a nice weekend...helki
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ClaudiaJ, on August 29, 2011, said:
Magnifico lugar y foto.
Like
Gracias por la invitación al grupo.
Saludos, Claudia
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Peter-52, on September 28, 2011, said:
it's so wonderful.... YSL, Best regards, Peter
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Buts_YV, on September 29, 2011, said:
Fantastic shot, exquisite picture LIKE- 25! My regards, greetings from Ukraine! Yuri.
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Piliph, on October 10, 2011, said:
Vraiment spectaculaire ! une très belle image.
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meteocoll, on December 24, 2011, said:
Amazing!!!!
Like + YS for it.
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Tom Portschy, on March 1, 2012, said:
Fantastic! Like + Favorite
Best wishes from Hungary, Tom
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ELMUNT, on March 8, 2012, said:
Me gusta buena foto
FOLLO ME
FOLLOW ME 1
FOLLOW ME 2
FOLLOW ME 3
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Reinhard Kerkeling, on April 30, 2012, said:
It is an amazing picture and it must been great to have seen this area completely. Kind regards Reinhard
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Lady GooGoo La La, on July 3, 2012, said:
Nuther nanosecond click zooooom! YSL great coour and contrast, oh yeah beautiful place too! googoolar
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Reza Dehghanizadeh, on August 20, 2012, said:
wonderful place
Like
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jaapberk, on December 5, said:
ILIKE
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pepeljuga1, on January 29, said:
raznih čuda ima na našoj prelepoj planeti.. i ovo je jedno od njih..
sjajna slika.. ~YSL~
Pozdrav, Tanja
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