GLACIERS IN GREENLAND

Glaciers are not an unusual sight in Greenland due to the gigantic ice sheet that covers most of the country.

However, there are only a few places where the glaciers occur immediately adjacent to a town, and therefore can be appreciated on an excursion.

The majority of visitors to Greenland either drive up to and onto the ice in off-road vehicles at Kangerlussuaq, fly to the ice in helicopters as at Nuuk or Ilulissat – or sail to the glaciers, which can be done from most towns.

At Narsarsuaq it is also possible to walk to the glacier, although the hike takes several hours.

RIVERS OF ICE

The majority of glaciers in Greenland are slow-moving rivers of ice that flow out of the ice sheet.

It is not until the ice begins to move that the term glacier can be used, and if the ice breaks free or falls into the water then the term iceberg applies.

Ice is constantly released at the head of the glacier due to the force of gravity and the pressure from the enormous volume of ice behind.

The sea in the vicinity of productive glaciers is covered with castles and towers of ice, and the ice crushes everything along the mountainsides during its slow passage forward.