Otemma Glacier, Alpine glacier in Valais, Switzerland
Otemma Glacier is a large ice mass in the Valais Alps that extends across several kilometers through high mountain terrain. The glacier tongue sits at approximately 2821 meters elevation and displays typical features of an active alpine glacier with visible crevasses and moraines.
The glacier was significantly larger in the 1970s and covered a much more extensive area than today. Since then it has steadily retreated, reflecting the long-term changes affecting mountain glaciers in the Alps.
Scientists regularly study the Otemma Glacier to understand climate patterns and environmental changes affecting the Alpine region of Switzerland.
Access to the glacier typically follows hiking routes that begin from lower mountain zones and become progressively steeper. The best time to visit is during warmer months when snow cover is lighter and trails are more clearly visible.
In summer 2018 the lower section of the glacier collapsed dramatically, leaving behind a reshaped ice surface with different characteristics. This event illustrates the rapid transformation that alpine ice masses undergo today.
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