Franz Josef Glacial Valley
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Franz Josef Glacial Valley

Green & red lichen covering the rocks below a waterfall on the south island of New Zealand. You might be surprised that within a mile of this green, temperate rainforest is the edge of Franz Josef Glacier. The western coast of the south island of New Zealand is unique in that you have glaciers next to rain forest, not too far from sea level. Part of the reason that the ice gets so low is that the mountains are so steep and the glacier moves so fast that it gets quite far into warmer climate before melting.

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Posted Dec 21, 2011 10:22 am





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  • What a beautiful rendition of a very, very difficult subject to photograph. Your gift shines through once again.

    I love the West Coast, it's my favorite part of New Zealand. Well, that and Golden Bay.

    Historically, the glaciers were tens of kilometers further down the valley, as evidenced by photographs of a visit when I was a toddler. Now, you have to drive way up the valley to reach the carpark from where you can see the ice, and walk even further, especially at nearby Fox Glacier. Further climate warming, over the 2 degrees C that we're already committed to, will probably see the demise of these glaciers.

    David Price @ Dec 21, 2011 10:52 am

  • Thanks for your great comment, David!

    Daniel @ Dec 21, 2011 12:44 pm

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