Franz Josef Glacier
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Franz Josef glacier photographed from the valley floor. |
The
Franz Josef is a
glacier located in
Westland National Park on the West Coast of
New Zealand's
South Island. Together with the
Fox Glacier 20 km to the south it is a unique in the fact that it descends from the
Southern Alps to just 200 metres above sea level amidst the greenery and lushness of a temperate rainforest. It was named after emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria by the German explorer,
Julius von Haast in 1865. The river emerging from the glacier terminal is known as the Waiho.
The glacier is currently 12
kilometres long and terminates 19 km from the
Tasman Sea. The glacier exhibits a cyclic pattern of advance and retreat, driven by differences between the volume of meltwater at the foot of the glacier and volume of snowfall feeding the
névé. Having retreated several kilometres between the 1940s and 1980s, the glacier entered an advancing phase in 1984 and at times has advanced at the phenomenal (by glacial standards) rate of 70 cm a day. The flow rate is about 10 times that of typical glaciers.Over the longer term, the glacier has retreated since the last
ice age, and it is believed that it extended into the sea some 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.
This cyclic behaviour is well illustrated by a
postage stamp issued in 1946, depicting the view from St James Anglican Church. The church was built in 1931, with a panoramic altar window to take advantage of its location. By 1954, the glacier had disappeared from view from the church, but it reappeared in 1997.
The Māori name for the glacier is
Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere — the tears of Hinehukatere — arising from a legend: Hinehukatere loved climbing in the mountains and persuaded her lover, Tawe, to climb with her. An avalanche swept Tawe from the peaks to his death. Hinehukatere was broken hearted and her many, many tears froze to form the glacier.
The area surrounding both glaciers is designated a
World Heritage Site.
Image:FranzJosef_glacier1.jpgImage:FranzJosef_glacier2.jpgImage:FJG64490029.jpg*
New Zealand Tourism West Coast Glaciers*
United States Geological Survey Glaciers of New Zealand*
Retreat of glaciers since 1850
