It didn’t take long and then it roared. We squealed with amazement as a house sized chunk of ice broke away from the glacier wall in front of us into the Brazo Rico Arm of Lake Argentino, the country’s largest single body of water. The splash creating a tidal wave growled and pushed another massive ice berg floating below its face to move to the shore line. Perito Moreno Glacier moves up to 2 meters daily and visitors can see it and hear it and feel its tremendous presence up close. It is a remarkably accessible ice field with a network of catwalks and viewing points offering great views while remaining safe from the giant’s wrath.

Glacier Moreno is 30km long, 5km wide and 60m high. Over millennia it was formed at a low point in the Andes enabling Pacific storms to drop their snow load east of the divide. Under tremendous weight the snow crystallized into ice and flowed slowly to the east.