Jostedal Glacier

Jostedal Glacier or is the largest glacier in continental Europe. It is in Vestland county in Western Norway. Jostedalsbreen lies in the municipalities of Luster, Sogndal, Sunnfjord, and Stryn. The highest peak in the area is Lodalskåpa at a height of 2083 m.

History
In 1906, work was being done on footpaths that could accommodate tourists.

The glacial water is also used in distilling Vikingfjord

Geography
The Jostedal Glacier has a total area of 487 km2. The highest point is Høgste Breakulen at 1957 m above mean sea level. Branches of the glacier reach down into the valleys, for instance Bøyabreen in Fjærland and Nigardsbreen, both at 300 m above sea level. The thickest part of the glacier is 600 m. Jostedalsbreen has a length of a little more than 60 km and it is a part of the 1310 km2 Jostedalsbreen National Park, which was established in 1991. The glacier covers over half of the national park.

The glacier is maintained by the high snowfall rates in the region, not the cold temperatures. This means the glacier has high melting rates in its snouts. The Jostedalsbreen has around 50 glacier arms such as the Nigardsbreen and Tunsbergdalsbreen in Jostedal, the Briksdalsbreen near Olden, the Bøyabreen by Fjærland, the Kjenndalsbreen, Tindefjellbreen near Loen, and Austerdalsbreen. In 2012, the glacier arm Briksdalsbreen lost 50 m of ice in a few months. More recent measurements now show that Briksdalsbreen retreated 146 m in 2006, and could be in danger of breaking away from the upper icefield. Ice climbing has now been terminated because of this event.