Jorge Montt Glacier, Tidewater glacier in Southern Patagonian Ice Field, Chile.
Jorge Montt Glacier is a tidewater glacier flowing from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field down to sea level. The ice terminates directly in a fjord system that opens westward into the Pacific Ocean within Bernardo O'Higgins National Park.
The glacier was named after Jorge Montt, a Chilean naval officer and politician from the late nineteenth century. The naming reflects early exploration efforts in this remote part of Patagonia.
The glacier's name honours Jorge Montt, the Chilean naval officer and president after whom it was named. The Nothofagus wood found in 2010 was dated to burial ages of 250 to 460 years BP, and Andrés Rivera linked it to a mature Magellanic southern beech forest destroyed when the glacier advanced during the Little Ice Age.
Reaching the glacier requires taking a boat from Caleta Tortel and traveling through the Patagonian fjord system, which can take several hours. Bring warm and waterproof clothing, as weather conditions change rapidly and water spray is common during boat rides.
In 2010, glaciologist Andrés Rivera's team found Nothofagus betuloides wood emerging from the ice; radiocarbon dating gave burial ages of 250–460 years BP. The tree rings point to an old-growth Magellanic southern beech forest, with trees averaging about 150 years old, destroyed when the glacier advanced during the Little Ice Age.
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