Jostedal Glacier or is the largest

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

in continental

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. It is in

Vestland Vestland is a county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the city of Bergen, where t ...

county in

Western Norway Western Norway ( nb, Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; nn, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrativ ...

. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster,

Sogndal Sogndal is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansverk is the administrative center of Sogndal municipality. Other villages i ...

Sunnfjord Sunnfjord ( en, the southern fjord - in contrast to Nordfjord) is a traditional district in Western Norway located in Vestland county. It includes the municipalities of Askvoll, Fjaler, the southernmost parts of Kinn, Sunnfjord, and the souther ...

, and

Stryn Stryn is a municipality in the county of Vestland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordfjord. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Stryn. The municipality is located along the innermost part of t ...

. The highest peak in the area is

Lodalskåpa Lodalskåpa is the highest nunatak on the Norwegian glacier Jostedalsbreen. It is located on the border between the municipalities of Stryn and Luster in Vestland county, Norway, within Jostedalsbreen National Park. The tall Lodalskåpa is lo ...

at a height of .

History

In 1906, work was being done on

footpath A footpath (also pedestrian way, walking trail, nature trail) is a type of thoroughfare that is intended for use only by pedestrians and not other forms of traffic such as motorized vehicles, bicycles and horses. They can be found in a wide ...

s that could accommodate tourists.

Geography

The Jostedal Glacier has a total area of . The highest point is

Høgste Breakulen Høgste Breakulen is the highest point on the Norwegian glacier Jostedalsbreen. It is inside the Jostedalsbreen National Park on the border of the municipalities of Stryn and Luster in Vestland county, Norway. Lodalskåpa, a nunatak to the nort ...

at above

mean sea level There are several kinds of mean in mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. ...

. Branches of the glacier reach down into the valleys, for instance

Bøyabreen Bøyabreen is a glacier in the Fjærland area of Sogndal Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located inside Jostedalsbreen National Park, and it is a side branch of the large Jostedalsbreen glacier. See also *List of glaciers in Norwa ...

Fjærland Fjærland or Mundal is a village in Sogndal Municipality, at the end of the Fjærlandsfjorden, in Vestland county, Norway. The Fjærlandfjorden is a branch going north off the Sognefjorden, the longest fjord in Norway. The village area is located ...

and

Nigardsbreen Nigardsbreen ( en, the Nigard Glacier) is a glacier arm of the large Jostedalsbreen glacier. Nigardsbreen lies about north of the village of Gaupne in the Jostedalen valley in Luster Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located just w ...

, both at above sea level. The thickest part of the glacier is . Jostedalsbreen has a length of a little more than and it is a part of the

Jostedalsbreen National Park Jostedalsbreen National Park ( no, Jostedalsbreen nasjonalpark) is a national park in Norway that encompasses the largest glacier on the European mainland, Jostedalsbreen. The park was established by royal decree on 25 October 1991, and then in ...

, which was established in 1991. The glacier covers over half of the national park. The glacier is maintained by the high snowfall rates in the region, not the cold temperatures. This means the glacier has high melting rates in its

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is c ...

s. The Jostedalsbreen has around 50 glacier arms such as the

and

Tunsbergdalsbreen Tunsbergdalsbreen is a glacier in the municipality of Luster in Vestland, Norway. It is a side branch of the Jostedalsbreen glacier, and is included in the Jostedalsbreen National Park. See also *List of glaciers in Norway These are the lar ...

Jostedal Jostedal is a former municipality in the old Sogn og Fjordane county in Norway. The municipality existed from 1838 until its dissolution in 1963. It was located in the Jostedalen valley in the northern part of the present-day municipality of ...

, the

Briksdalsbreen Briksdalsbreen ( en, the Briksdal glacier) is one of the most accessible and best known arms of the Jostedalsbreen glacier. Briksdalsbreen is located in the municipality of Stryn in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier lies on the north side of t ...

near

Olden Olden may refer to: Places *Olden, Norway, a village in Stryn, Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway *Olden, Missouri, an unincorporated community *Olden, Texas, a community in Eastland county, Texas, USA People *Charles Smith Olden, an American polit ...

, the

Kjenndalsbreen Kjenndalsbreen is a glacier in the municipality of Stryn in Vestland, Norway. The glacier is a side branch of the Jostedalsbreen glacier, and is included in the Jostedalsbreen National Park. See also *List of glaciers in Norway These are th ...

Tindefjellbreen Tindefjellbreen is a glacier in the municipality of Stryn in Vestland county, Norway. The glacier lies about east of the mountain Skåla, roughly halfway between the villages of Bødalen and Erdalen. The glacier is in the mountains east of ...

near

Loen Loen may refer to: People * Dagfinn Loen * Johann Michael von Loën (1694–1776), German writer and statesman * John van Loen (born 1965), Dutch football player * Maria of Loen-Heinsberg * Sjur Loen (born 1958), Norwegian curler * Youri Loen (b ...

, and

Austerdalsbreen Austerdalsbreen is a glacier in the municipality of Luster in Vestland, Norway. It is a side branch of the Jostedalsbreen glacier, and is included in the Jostedalsbreen National Park. The glacier is fed by the three steep glaciers Odinbreen, Tor ...

. In 2012, the glacier arm

lost of ice in a few months. More recent measurements now show that Briksdalsbreen retreated in 2006, and could be in danger of breaking away from the upper icefield. Ice climbing has now been terminated because of this event.

References

External links

Map
at SNL.no
Jostedalsbreen National Park CentreJostedal Glacier National ParkDirectorate for Nature Management - National Parks
Glaciers of Vestland Sogndal Sunnfjord Luster, Norway Stryn {{Vestland-geo-stub

History

Geography

See also

References

Further reading

External links