Mer de Glace


Mer de Glace

(mĕr də gläs) [Fr.,=sea of ice], glacier (3.5 mi/5.6 km long; 16 sq mi/41 sq km), Haute-Savoie dept., E France, on the northern slope of Mont Blanc. It is formed by the junction of three smaller glaciers and extends a few miles NE of Chamonix. There are deep crevasses and high seracs (ice needles). The glacier is renowned for its majestic beauty and is a tourist attraction.

Mer de Glace

 

(French,“sea of ice”) , a valley glacier in the Alps, in the Mont Blanc massif (France). It is located on the massifs northern slope at an elevation of 1,150-4,200 m. Length, 15 km: Area, 42.6 sq km. It is formed by four ice flows. Mer de Glace is shrinking; its area has decreased by 23 percent in the last 80 years.