Fedchenko Glacier

the largest mountain-valley glacier in the USSR; located in the northwestern part of the Pamirs, in the Tadzhik SSR.

The Fedchenko Glacier originates on the northern slope of the Iazgulem Range, at the foot of Revolution, 26 Commissars, and Paris Commune peaks. It descends along the eastern base of the Akademiia Nauk Range, receiving 30 tributary glaciers from the left and right. Classified as a complex valley glacier, it is 77 km long and 2,600 m wide, with an ice thickness of up to 1,000 m in the central part. It moves at a rate of up to 66.8 cm/day and has an inclination of 1.5°-2.5°. The upper end of the glacier is situated at an elevation of 6,280 m, and the lower end, at an elevation of 2,900 m. The snowline is at 4,650 m. The ridges of the medial and lateral moraines are clearly expressed; there is also a moraine at the lower end, from where the Sel’dara River originates. The total area of glaciation and névés is 992 sq km.

The lower part of the Fedchenko Glacier was discovered in 1878 by V. F. Oshanin, and the middle and upper parts were discovered in 1928 by the Pamir Expedition. The highest hydro-meteorological observatory in the world is located on the glacier at an elevation of more than 4,200 m. During the International Geophysical Year (1957–59), the Vitkovskii Glacier glaciological station was set up on the upper part of the Fedchenko Glacier, at an approximate elevation of 4,900 m, and another station was set up at the lower end.

The glacier was named in honor of A. P. Fedchenko.