Silvretta Glacier, Mountain glacier in Grisons, Switzerland

Silvretta Glacier is a mountain glacier in Grisons that stretches across a broad expanse between rocky peaks and valleys. The ice forms a distinctive blue-white landscape that shifts with the seasons and changing light.

Since 1956 ETH Zurich has recorded annual data on the glacier; by 2011 it had retreated 328 metres since measurements began. Mass balance has been determined yearly since 1960, the longest unbroken series still kept for a Swiss glacier. Around 1860, at its Little Ice Age maximum, it stood over 1 km further down the valley.

The glacier feeds the Verstanclabach, a headstream of the Landquart. Its name is recalled in the Silvrettahütte, the Swiss Alpine Club hut at 2,341 m below the glacier tongue, which serves as a base for high-alpine glacier and mountain tours. The surrounding moraine landscape, left by the retreating ice, now holds several small lakes.

The Silvrettahütte of the Swiss Alpine Club stands at 2341 m below the glacier tongue and serves as the starting point for high-alpine glacier and mountain tours. The Silvrettapass, now at 2987 m after melting, links the ice to the La Cudera glacier and marks the Rhine-Danube watershed.

Research institutions from Switzerland regularly study this glacier, making it an important site for alpine glacier research. Its data contributes to international long-term studies tracking how ice responds to changing conditions.