The Hallstätter Glacier () (formerly also called the ''Karleisfeld'' or Karl Icefield) is the largest glacier in the

Dachstein Mountains The Dachstein Mountains () are a mountain range in the Northern Limestone Alps. The term is used by the Austrian Alpine Club in its classification of the Eastern Alps as one of the 24 sub-ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps (AVE No. 14). The ...

. It lies immediately beneath the northern foot of the

Dachstein Hoher Dachstein () is a strongly karstic mountain in central Austria and the second-highest mountain in the Northern Limestone Alps. It is situated at the border of Upper Austria and Styria, and is the highest point in each of those states. Par ...

itself and runs down to the

Eissee The Upper and Lower Eissee are two lakes in the Dachstein Mountains in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. They lie north of a high mountain, the Gjaidstein, at an elevation of around . Lower Eissee The Lower Eissee () lies at in a shallow ...

lake below the Simony Hut at a height of . To the east the Hallstätter Glacier is bounded by the High Gjaidstein. Firmly sealed off at its western snout by the Schöberl, , it is bordered in the west by the eastern flank of the

Hohes Kreuz Hohes Kreuz () is a former municipality in the Eichsfeld in Thuringia, Germany. The municipality was created in 1991 by merging the municipalities of Bischhagen, Mengelrode, Siemerode, and Streitholz. On 1 January 2024 it became part of the town H ...

ridge, running from south to north, which reaches a height of . In its upper third the glacier flows around a prominent landmark, the ''Eisstein''. At its head in the south it is also bordered by the Hunerkogel and the Dirndln.Federal Office of Weights and Measures: Austrian map series 1:50.000
AMAP Online
, accessed on 28 November 2009 Other glaciers on the Dachstein are the Gosau Glacier to the west and the Schladminger Glacier to the east.

Retreat of the glacier

The glacier is very sensitive to the climate, as can be seen with views from the Simonyhütte (within 25 years): File:Das Karlseisfeld am 27. September 1890.jpeg, The glacier in 1890 File:Dachstein glacier en1967.jpg, The glacier in 1967 File:Dachstein glacier en 1992.jpg, The glacier 25 years later in 1992

References

Sources

* Roman Moser: ''Der Hallstätter Gletscher - heute der größte Gletscher der Nördlichen Kalkalpen''. In: Oberösterreichische Heimatblätter 8(1954)1-2, S. 103
Digitalisat
* Herbert Weingartner: ''Lehrpfad Hallstätter Gletscher - Ein Begleiter durch die Gebirgslandschaft am Dachstein'' . Atelier Tintifax, Breitenfurt Dachstein Mountains Glaciers of Austria Glaciers of the Alps Hallstatt {{Austria-glacier-stub