CHACALTAYA GLACIER, BOLIVIA
August 11, 2006
Global warming has reduced Chacaltaya Glacier, a real glacier as recently as the 1970's, to these relic patches of snow. With the glacial retreat, the ski lift was abandoned (though the lodge is still used for sightseers). The Chacaltaya has now broken into three tiny patches. It will survive no more than another half dozen years. With the human populations below the peaks dependent on the water stored in fast-shrinking glaciers like this one, trouble lies ahead if these melting trends continue.
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