Rapid Fire
Rhone Glacier
- 27 Jun 2025
- 2 min read
Climate change is making some of Switzerland's glaciers resemble Swiss cheese, full of collapsing holes that threaten their stability. In May 2025, an avalanche from Birch Glacier submerged parts of the valley village of Blatten.
Rhone Glacier
- Location: It is located in the southern Swiss Alps near the Furka Pass and the Italian border, and serves as the source of the Rhône River, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea.
- The Rhone river flows through Switzerland and France.
- Features: It is the most accessible and most extensively studied glacier in Switzerland, and is currently the fifth largest in the country.
- Its surface is characterized by crevasses (deep cracks on the surface of glaciers) and ice caves.
- Glacial Retreat: It has rapidly shrunk since the 19th century and is expected to vanish by the end of the 21st century.
- The Alps and Switzerland, which host more glaciers than any other European country, have been experiencing glacial retreat for nearly 170 years.
- About Alps: The Alps, Europe's highest and most extensive fold mountain range, stretch across eight countries: France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, and Monaco. The highest peak is Mont Blanc, located on the France-Italy border.
| Read More: Changing Landscape of Alps: Europe |
