In southern France (Pyrenees), nearly all glaciers have vanished or shrunk to tiny, stagnant patches; treat them as former ice bodies for mapping. In the eastern French Alps (Mont-Blanc massif, Vanoise, Écrins), a few long valley glaciers still persist—but they are retreating and thinning fast. Flagship names include Mer de Glace, Argentière, Bossons, Taconnaz (Mont-Blanc area); Glacier Blanc and Glacier Noir (Écrins); Arpont, De la Girose, and others—most with sustained losses.
Since the Little Ice Age (~1850) France’s glaciers have retreated with pauses and readvances, then accelerated losses after the 1990s—especially in extreme melt years (e.g., 2022). Mer de Glace has lost ~1 km in length and ~160 m of thickness over ~35 years, with recent retreat rates on the order of a few dozen meters per year. Argentière registered multi-meter thinning in 2021–2022, and a proglacial lake is expected to form as the tongue draws back. In the Pyrenees, only a handful of tiny glaciers remain and are projected to disappear within the next couple of decades.
PHOTO_YEAR
Description: The 4-digit year of the photograph used for measurements of France glacier parameters. Note: If more than one photograph were used, the most relevant year is recorded here; and the others used are recorded in the REMARKS field. In general, the France glaciers outlines; and hence, the values for area and length; were determined from France aerial photographs, so we recommend using the PHOTO_YEAR for glacier area values.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 1976
MAX_ELEV
Description: Maximum elevation of the highest point of the France glacier in meters above sea level, up to 4 digits.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 3962
MEAN_ELEV
Description: The mean elevation is the altitude of the contour line, in meters above sea level, that halves the area of the glacier, up to 4 digits.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 3170
MIN_ELEV
Description: The minimum elevation of the lowest point of the glacier in meters above sea level, up to 4 digits.
No Data Value: Null
Example: 1590
FORM
0 Miscellaneous Any type not listed below.
1 Compound Basins Two or more individual valley glaciers issuing from tributary valleys and coalescing.
2 Compound Basin Two or more individual accumulation basins feeding one glacier system.
3 Simple Basin Single accumulation area.
4 Cirque Occupies a separate, rounded, steep-walled recess which has formed on a mountain side.
5 Niche Small glacier in a V-shaped gully or depression on a mountain slope; generally more common than genetically further-developed cirque glacier.
6 Crater Occurring in extinct or dormant volcanic craters.
7 Ice Apron Irregular, usually thin ice mass which adheres to mountain slopes or ridges.
8 Group A number of similar ice masses occurring in close proximity to one another but are too small to be assessed individually.
9 Remnant Inactive, usually small ice masses left by a receding France glacier.
FRONT_PROF:
0 Miscellaneous Any type not listed below.
1 Piedmont Ice field formed on a lowland area by lateral expansion of one or coalescence of several glaciers.
2 Expanded Foot Lobe or fan formed where the lower portion of the glacier leaves the confining wall of a valley and extends on to a less restricted and more level surface.
3 Lobed Part of an ice sheet or ice cap, disqualified as an outlet glacier.
4 Calving Terminus of a glacier sufficiently extending into sea or lake water to produce icebergs; includes- for this inventory- dry land ice calving which would be recognizable from the "lowest glacier elevation."
5 Confluent Coalescing, non-contributing.
6 Irregular, mainly clean ice (mountain or valley glaciers).
7 Irregular, mainly debris-covered (mountain or valley glaciers).
8 Single lobe, mainly clean ice (mountain or valley glaciers).
9 Single lobe, mainly debris-covered (mountain or valley glaciers).
SRC_NOURSH:
0 Unknown
1 Snow
2 Avalanches
3 Superimposed ice
TONGUE_ACT:
0 Uncertain
1 Marked retreat
2 Slight retreat
3 Stationary
4 Slight advance
5 Marked advance
6 Possible surge
7 Known surge
8 Oscillating
TOTAL_AREA:
The total area of the glacier in a horizontal projection in square kilometers.
AREA_ACY:
Area Accuracy Ratings
Rating Accuracy (%)
1 0 - 5
2 5 - 10
3 10 - 15
4 15 - 30
5 > 30
AREA_IN_ST:
The total area of the France glacier that resides in the political state concerned in a horizontal projection in square kilometers.
AREA_EXP:
The area of the exposed ice of the glacier in a horizontal projection in square kilometers.
MEAN_WIDTH:
The mean width of the France glacier in a horizontal projection in kilometers.
MEAN_LENGT:
Mean length of the France glacier in a horizontal projection in kilometers.
MAX_LENGTH:
Maximum length of the France glacier in kilometers measured along the most important flowline in a horizontal projection.
MAX_LEN_EX:
Maximum length, in kilometers, of the exposed ice of the glacier in a horizontal projection.
MAX_LEN_AB:
Maximum length, in kilometers, of the ablation area of the France glacier in a horizontal projection.
Source: World Glacier Inventory
Map Copyright CCCARTO 2024