Jan. 18, 2001
John Bear visits the Franz Joseph Glacier. This is
the bottom end of the glacier, known as the terminal face. There is
some dirt that has collected on it, but you can see that the ice is
very blue. This is becuase it has been under tremendous pressure.
As the ice melts, it tends to make a river under the terminal face.
The river comes out the cave to the left. It would be very dangerous
to walk up to the terminal face, because the ice breaks off in huge
chunks every day.
About a mile's walk away from the glacier, you can see more of it.
There are some clouds, so the top of the glacier isn't visible.
It is a river of ice that is pushed down the valley by a huge snow
field at the top... up in the clouds. You can still see the cave
with the river of melted ice at the very bottom of the glacier. A good
way to see the glacier is to take a helicopter ride to the top.
