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Northern Patagonian Ice Field
The Northern Patagonian Ice Field, located in southern Chile, is the smaller of two remnant parts in which the Patagonian Ice Sheet in the Andes Mountains of lower South America can be divided. It is completely contained within the boundaries of Laguna San Rafael National Park. The Northern Patagonian Ice Field is a vestige of the Patagonian Ice Sheet, an extensive ice sheet that have covered much of Patagonia during trhe Quaternary glaciations. Today, with its glaciers largely in retreat and only an area of 4,200 km, it is still the largest continuous mass of ice outside of the polar regions. Survival is based on its elevation , favorable terrain, and a cool, moist, marine climate. The ice field has 28 exit glaciers, the largest twoSan Quintin and San Rafaelnearly reach sea level to the west at the Pacific Ocean. Smaller exit glaciers, like San Valentin and Nef, feed numerous rivers and glacially carved lakes to the east.
See also
Southern Patagonian Ice Field
List of glaciers
References
Northern Patagonian Ice Field, Earth
USGS
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Northern Patagonian Ice Field
