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The Glacier Noir (French for "black glacier") is a glacier in the Massif des Écrins in the French Alps. It is located in the département of Hautes-Alpes. == Geography == Of all the great glaciers in the Oisans region, the Glacier Noir is the one that descends furthest into the valley. This is thanks to favourable topography and the fact that the lower tongue of the glacier is entirely covered with ablation moraine. As a result it is better screened from direct sunshine than, for example, its neighbour, the Glacier Blanc ("white glacier"). Until at least 1866 the Glacier Noir and Glacier Blanc were combined into a single glacial system〔According to other sources the separation of the Glacier Blanc and the Glacier Noir occurred in 1876, c.f. 〕 above the ''Pré de Madame Carle''. But whilst the foot of the Glacier Blanc has retreated today to a height of around , the snout of the Glacier Noir descends a further 200 metres in height to about .〔Vgl. Description at (vallouimages.com ).〕 A glacier covered in moraine debris is generally referred to in French as a ''glacier noir''.〔See 〕 The Glacier Noir is fed from two high-altitude firn basins. The northern branch (''branche septentrionale'') is in turn fed from the bowl below the ''Col des Avalanches'', at the foot of Pic Coolidge and the Barre des Écrins, the southwesternmost four-thousander of the Alps. From here it flows below the south face of the ''Crête de l'Encoula'' (also: ''Crête de l'Encula''), a crest that runs from the Barre to the ''Pointe du Serre Subeyran''. The great majority of the rubble that covers the lower section of the glacier is transported from its northern branch. The southern branch (''branche méridionale'') originates between the faces of the Ailefroide and Pic Coolidge, below the ''Col de Coste Rouge'' () and the ''Col de la Temple'' (). The steep north faces of the Ailefroide, Pic du Coup de Sabre and Pic Sans Nom tower 1,000 to 1,500 metres above the glacier. The arête, which runs over these peaks eastwards to Mont Pelvoux, is also called the ''Grand Muraille du Glacier Noir''. Five summits along this crest (''Ailefroide Central'', ''Pointe Fourastier'', Pic Sans Nom, ''Pointe Puiseux'' and ''Pointe Durand'') exceed the 3,900 metre mark. On its left-hand side, the southern branch of the glacier is bounded by the eastern foothills of Pic Coolidge. Hemmed in between these two faces, the firn stream flows initially northeastwards before swinging north just before the two ice streams merge. Rubble first appears on the surface of the southern glacial branch in large quantities in its lower reaches. The two ice streams of the Glacier Noir merge at a height of over . However, the southern arm is about to retreat over the boundary between the lower basin and upper bowl, which will separate the glacier into distinct lower and upper sections.〔Information and photos about the breakup of the glacier at (vallouise.info )〕 Currently the combined tongue of ice flows from its junction, descending another good 200 metres in height, and ends beneath the northern foothills of Mont Pelvoux. It is about 400 metres wide at this point and a high and steep lateral moraine towers over it on the left-hand (northern) side, across which a climbing path runs from the ''Pré de Madame Carle'', above the village of Ailefroide. Measurements are more difficult than on other glaciers as a result of the covering of moraine. In 1965 the glacier was about 5.5 km long from head to snout and had an area of just under 6 km². Due to its covering of moraine, variations in these dimensions are less than those of other glaciers of similar size that are not so covered. The meltwaters of the Glacier Noir pass down the ''Torrent du Glacier Noir'', the ''Gyr'', the ''Gyronde'', the Durance and finally the Rhône into the Mediterranean Sea.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Glacier Noir」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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