The Potanin Glacier is the longest
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 over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...
in
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, it stretches about 14 kilometres and located through in the
Altai Tavan Bogd mountain in
Altai Mountains.
The glacier is named after explorer
Grigory Potanin.
As with many other glaciers around the world, the Potanin Glacier is gradually decreasing in size. Over a 6-year period of observation, September 2003 to September 2009, it retreated by about 90 meters, thus recording an average retreat rate of 15 m/year. It also has become thinner, especially in its lower parts; the average thinning rate of 2.6 m/year has been measured over 2004–2009.
References
Sources
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Glaciers of Mongolia
Altai Mountains
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