Glaciers of Russia: list and photo. Mountain glaciers of Russia

Glaciers play an important role in the replenishment of all rivers in the world. 16 million square meters. Km - is their total area, this is about 11% of the entire land. They contain a huge supply of fresh water. In Russia, their huge number, an area of about 60 thousand square meters. Km. The glaciers of Russia are divided into two types, according to the mode of their formation:

• Coverslips. This is the vast majority of all glacier systems in the country. These include the ice of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and other islands of the Arctic. The average thickness on the islands in the Arctic Ocean is from 100 to 300 meters. They store huge reserves of fresh water.
• Mountain glaciers of Russia. Their share in the total area is only 5%. These are glacial accumulations of the mountain ranges of the Caucasus, the Urals, and Kamchatka. For their formation, two conditions must be met: negative air temperatures and a large amount of precipitation. Often, if in the mountains often rains, then they are accompanied by warm weather.

A variety of glaciers

Classifications of glaciers, including mountain ones, there is a lot. What kind of varieties can be found in our country?

• Snow spots. The accumulation of snow in the gentle valleys and slopes.
• Glaciers stupeneobraznyh slopes. The snow mass gathers at the shady bottom of the mountain and feeds on descending avalanches.
• Hanging glaciers. Are located on steep slopes, as if hanging over it. They are small in size, but they are dangerous, because they can fall down.
• Carbon glaciers. Snow masses in the craggy valleys, with a steep back wall.
• Glaciers of volcanic peaks. They occupy the tops of the mountains.
• Transient glaciers. They have a common beginning - the top of the ridge, but the bets in opposite sides.
• Norwegian type. This type of glacier is a transition from the mountain to the coverslips. The ice caps of the plateau-like vertices are spreading downward. Having reached the edge, they separate down by separate foci.
• The valleys are located in mountain valleys.

Mountain glaciers in Russia do not remain the same in area. Some are shortened, others are increasing, there are others that change their location, moving. What are the largest glaciers in Russia? The list of the five largest mountain systems with perennial ice looks as follows.

Caucasus

This is the largest center of accumulation of mountain glaciers. On the Russian part of the Caucasian range, ie. On its northern slope, huge masses are concentrated, with a total area of 1400 square kilometers. It is more than 2000 glaciers. Basically they are small in size, up to 1 square. Km in diameter. The largest glacier in Russia is the Elbrus mountain complex in Kabardino-Balkaria, with an area of more than 120 square kilometers. Km. Another large snow peak in the Caucasus is the peak of the extinct volcano Kazbek. It is here that more than 60% of all the ice in the Caucasus is concentrated. The peculiarity is their mountainous character. The Russian part of the snowy peaks of the Greater Caucasus is located on its northern slope, it is more smooth and extended, unlike the Southern one. Here more than 70% of the ice of the Greater Caucasus. The southern slope is steep and steep, with 30% of the snow in the Caucasus Mountains. The glaciation of this ridge is of great importance for the feeding of rivers, which take place here. These are tributaries of the Kuban River - Belaya, Zelenchuk, Laba - and the rivers Terek - Ardon, Urukh, Baksan. The glaciers of the Caucasus Mountains recede and their area shrinks. Although this decrease is insignificant, the feeding of rivers suffers from it. Over the century, the level of the snow line rose by 70-75 cm. Sometimes there is a short-term ice attack in some areas.

Altai

The second place in the list of the largest mountain glaciers in the country is the snow of Altai. Here, in the south of Siberia, about 1500 foci, which occupy an area of more than 900 square meters. Km. The largest glaciations on the Katun, South Chui and North Chuya ranges. Large masses are concentrated on the Belukha mountain, where the great Altai river Katun and its tributaries originate. These places became the most loved and popular among climbers in the whole Altai. Here is the glacier Akkem. Some believe that he has a special energy, and charges her visitors. Another snow top of Altai is Aktru. The mountain is famous for the colossal temperature difference. In summer there is unbearable heat, and in winter - severe cold. For this Aktru is considered a local point of cold. The temperature here drops to minus 62ºС. But even despite such severe climatic conditions, there are a lot of people who want to see these glaciers of Russia. Pictures of their landscapes are simply mesmerizing.

Kamchatka

The present glaciation of the peninsula is significant. Snow masses here are larger than in the Caucasus. They number about 450, with a total area of more than 900 square meters. Km. Their main focus is on the Middle Ridge and Klyuchevskaya group. The glaciers of Russia in Kamchatka have an interesting feature. They are referred to the so-called caldera, because of the way they are formed. They are formed in the calderas and craters of volcanoes and hills, which on the peninsula are huge. In Kamchatka, the warm season is short, and the snow that falls on the tops of the hills can not melt. Another feature of snows of Kamchatka is their low location. Glaciers descend from the peaks to a height of 1600 meters. Of great importance in the life of snows are volcanic eruptions. During the eruption glaciers actively melt and fill the rivers with thawed water.

Koryak Range

It is also called the Koryak Highlands. It is located in the Far East, captures the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and the Kamchatka Territory. The total number of glaciers here is 1330, and their area is more than 250 square meters. Km. The Koryak plateau consists of short ridges and ridges that stretch from the north-east to the south-west. The glaciers of Russia in the Far East are elongated, up to 4 km long. They are located very low, much lower than the snow line, at a level of 700-1000 meters. This is due to climatic conditions and the proximity of the cold sea. Another glacier on the territory of Russia is Mount Ledianaya - its highest point is at a level of 2562 meters.

Mount Suntar Hayat

These glaciers of Russia are located in the territory of Yakutia and the Khabarovsk Territory. There are 208 of them with a total area of more than 200 sq km. The ridge stretched for 450 km, and the highest point of it - Mount Cape Khaya - at a level of almost 3000 meters. In addition to mountain glaciers, here about 800 square meters. Km tyrynov. This is the name of the large perennial ice that forms when the groundwater freezes. The thickness of such ice is usually about 8 meters. Suntar-Hayat is a watershed of such large rivers of Siberia as Indigirka, Aldan, and the rivers of the Okhotsk Sea basin.