Environmental Graffiti

The Colonial Glacier, located in Southern Chile, caused a nearby lake to swell last month and then empty rapidly down the Baker River, creating a mini-tsunami.

Image from *hiro008 on Flickr

The wave formed after melting water under increasing pressure bored through five miles of glacial ice, and the lake was no longer able to withstand the pressure.

The “riverine tsunami”, which actually ran against the flow of the Baker River, was in such a remote location that no one appears to have been injured, and the lake was refilled by late Wednesday.

Notwithstanding this, any force which is capable of boring five miles through solid ice is worth noting. This isn’t the first lake in Chile to potentially undergo the flood-drain-fill cycle, either; last year, Lake Tempano in Bernando Higgins National Park disappeared with no explanation, but has since recovered.

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