WEBVTT 00:01.999 --> 00:04.959 align:start Once relatively obscure Argentina's Patagonia 00:04.959 --> 00:09.626 align:start region is vast, empty and windswept. 00:09.626 --> 00:11.501 align:start I know there are condors around here because we 00:11.501 --> 00:12.667 align:start could see em from the distance. 00:12.667 --> 00:17.918 align:start And until recently international tourists only trickled in. 00:17.918 --> 00:22.417 align:start Now they're flocking south to see the best glacial 00:22.417 --> 00:26.709 align:start landscape in the world. 00:29.667 --> 00:31.792 align:start Funding for The Desert Speaks 00:31.792 --> 00:34.250 align:start was provided by Desert Program Partners, 00:34.250 --> 00:37.709 align:start representing concerned viewers making a financial commitment 00:37.709 --> 00:41.834 align:start to the education about and preservation of deserts. 00:41.834 --> 00:46.626 align:start And by the Stonewall Foundation. 00:48.999 --> 01:14.000 align:start ♪ music ♪ 01:17.042 --> 01:20.125 align:start Over the last couple of decades increasing number 01:20.125 --> 01:23.292 align:start of Europeans have been stopping in Buenos Aires, 01:23.292 --> 01:26.751 align:start not just to see the sophisticated city but as 01:26.751 --> 01:29.999 align:start a starting point to visit the greatest glacial 01:29.999 --> 01:31.959 align:start landscape in the world. 01:31.959 --> 01:38.751 align:start It's part of Argentina's vast Patagonia. 01:38.751 --> 01:42.542 align:start Buenos Aires is probably the western hemisphere's 01:42.542 --> 01:45.999 align:start most European city, as sophisticated and 01:45.999 --> 01:48.834 align:start cosmopolitan as it gets. 01:48.834 --> 01:55.959 align:start One of every three Argentine's lives in and around the city. 01:57.792 --> 02:02.626 align:start There is a old opera house that has been remodeled 02:02.626 --> 02:05.083 align:start and turned into a bookstore. 02:05.083 --> 02:08.417 align:start We may have to walk awhile to find it but its said to 02:08.417 --> 02:10.000 align:start be the best place in all of 02:10.000 --> 02:12.999 align:start Buenos Aires to find wildlife guides. 02:12.999 --> 02:15.626 align:start And certain Buenos Aires is full of wildlife, 02:15.626 --> 02:18.125 align:start beginning particularly after about 10:00 at night 02:18.125 --> 02:20.751 align:start and running til about 3 or 4 in the morning. 02:20.751 --> 02:22.999 align:start But the book I'm looking for has mammals, 02:22.999 --> 02:25.709 align:start birds and fishes in it and that's a little bit 02:25.709 --> 02:29.083 align:start different from the wildlife in Buenos Aires. 02:29.083 --> 02:30.999 align:start It's gotta be here somewhere. 02:30.999 --> 02:34.292 align:start It's on the Avenida Santa Fe. 02:34.292 --> 02:49.834 align:start [Spanish] 02:49.834 --> 02:52.999 align:start Well, I'm finally here, El Latinejo. 02:52.999 --> 02:55.834 align:start Oh, I see why they do call this a former theater. 02:55.834 --> 02:58.542 align:start It actually is. There's the stage. 02:58.542 --> 03:01.999 align:start Great idea for a theater, turn it into a bookstore. 03:01.999 --> 03:06.584 align:start Now if I can find a wildlife guide. 03:06.584 --> 03:08.292 align:start This is the one that I want. 03:08.292 --> 03:12.042 align:start This is really good, Guide to Patagonia. 03:12.042 --> 03:14.667 align:start Patagonia begins about 700 kilometers 03:14.667 --> 03:17.125 align:start south of Buenos Aires. 03:17.125 --> 03:21.125 align:start It accounts for nearly 1/3 of the area of Argentina 03:21.125 --> 03:25.959 align:start but only a tiny fraction of the total population. 03:25.959 --> 03:29.501 align:start But Patagonia is dry, cold and windswept and in the 03:29.501 --> 03:34.417 align:start west lacking in roads, rugged and pock-marked 03:34.417 --> 03:36.042 align:start with glacial lakes. 03:36.042 --> 03:41.417 align:start Many of the people there live onestancias, huge ranches. 03:41.417 --> 03:44.292 align:start The nearby mountains where horses take us are home 03:44.292 --> 03:46.834 align:start to the Andean condor. 03:46.834 --> 03:53.834 align:start One of Argentina's Patagonia experts is Maria Jose Figerero. 03:53.834 --> 03:55.999 align:start For some of us who are skinny the hard saddle 03:55.999 --> 04:01.918 align:start takes a little bit of doing, getting used to. 04:01.918 --> 04:03.083 align:start What's yours named? 04:03.083 --> 04:04.167 align:start Juan Perres. 04:04.167 --> 04:06.083 align:start Juan Perres. John Smith. 04:06.083 --> 04:07.417 align:start Rabicano. 04:07.417 --> 04:08.709 align:start So the dog's name is Caramba, 04:08.709 --> 04:12.918 align:start he's just a puppy and he'll go all day without getting tired. 04:12.918 --> 04:15.209 align:start Come on, Caramba, move. 04:15.209 --> 04:16.999 align:start Vamos pues. 04:16.999 --> 04:20.125 align:start Lagos San Martin was created by a galacier 04:20.125 --> 04:23.042 align:start that came off the continental ice field and 04:23.042 --> 04:26.792 align:start carried on many kilometers beyond the point where it 04:26.792 --> 04:29.459 align:start ends right now and the land all around it has 04:29.459 --> 04:35.000 align:start been smoothed by the great mass of ice crushing the 04:35.000 --> 04:38.417 align:start surface and rounding all the rough edges left by 04:38.417 --> 04:43.125 align:start land forms created by volcanic action many years ago. 04:43.125 --> 04:45.959 align:start In the desert you can remember your name, 04:45.959 --> 04:51.834 align:start cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain. 04:51.834 --> 04:54.501 align:start You know, that volcanic plug out there, 04:54.501 --> 04:56.000 align:start that must have been huge. 04:56.000 --> 04:58.542 align:start But imagine all the ice going over it because it's 04:58.542 --> 05:00.999 align:start been rounded all over by the ice. 05:00.999 --> 05:02.292 align:start Yeah. 05:02.292 --> 05:04.209 align:start So this had ice a kilometer deep? 05:04.209 --> 05:05.501 align:start Yes, at least. 05:05.501 --> 05:08.209 align:start There's even a kilometer deep in the ice hill right 05:08.209 --> 05:12.709 align:start now so coming down at that time at the glacial 05:12.709 --> 05:19.792 align:start maximum it would have been about this deep at least. 05:19.792 --> 05:21.584 align:start Life here is, is hard. 05:21.584 --> 05:26.375 align:start You're far from, all these lakes are at least between 05:26.375 --> 05:29.667 align:start 90 to 70 kilometers of the main road, 05:29.667 --> 05:33.709 align:start which is usually a place where you use to get to 05:33.709 --> 05:37.999 align:start another crossroads or the settlement and maybe then 05:37.999 --> 05:41.167 align:start many hundreds of kilometers more until a 05:41.167 --> 05:43.334 align:start big city where you get supplies. 05:43.334 --> 05:46.125 align:start So you live pretty isolated. 05:46.125 --> 05:47.999 align:start You see I've been through the 05:47.999 --> 05:49.918 align:start desert on a horse with no name. 05:49.918 --> 05:53.999 align:start It felt good to be out of the rain. 05:53.999 --> 05:56.709 align:start So how much rainfall do you figure they get here. 05:56.709 --> 05:58.709 align:start We have around about 400. 05:58.709 --> 06:01.042 align:start About 16 inches. 06:01.042 --> 06:01.501 align:start Yeah. 06:01.501 --> 06:03.999 align:start Maybe that 16 inches of rain is diminished by the 06:03.999 --> 06:09.125 align:start constant wind evaporating and sucking the moisture out. 06:09.125 --> 06:11.209 align:start All these plants are adapted to whenever the 06:11.209 --> 06:13.959 align:start rain comes down to make the most of it. 06:13.959 --> 06:16.083 align:start All right, pick it up, that's right, up the hill, 06:16.083 --> 06:17.167 align:start up the hill. 06:17.167 --> 06:19.250 align:start Let's see what's on top of the mesa. 06:19.250 --> 06:21.999 align:start So it, now is that Chile over there? 06:21.999 --> 06:23.167 align:start Right, that's it. 06:23.167 --> 06:25.709 align:start That's the beginning of the western margin of one 06:25.709 --> 06:27.959 align:start of the Lakes of Martin. 06:27.959 --> 06:30.167 align:start So we're looking on Chile now surrounded by these 06:30.167 --> 06:31.751 align:start two mountains here. 06:31.751 --> 06:33.918 align:start I know there are condors around here because we 06:33.918 --> 06:35.459 align:start could see em from the distance. 06:35.459 --> 06:37.125 align:start If you concentrate over there, 06:37.125 --> 06:38.751 align:start there's a cliff face there, 06:38.751 --> 06:40.459 align:start they should be flying out around about this time. 06:40.459 --> 06:44.542 align:start You can see the, the feathers on the tips of 06:44.542 --> 06:45.999 align:start their wings as they use em. 06:45.999 --> 06:48.834 align:start If you see the underside is black, it's, it's a condor. 06:48.834 --> 06:52.250 align:start Usually the size of them is a dead giveaway but 06:52.250 --> 06:53.375 align:start just to make sure. 06:53.375 --> 06:55.292 align:start What about the whiteness on the head, 06:55.292 --> 06:57.167 align:start when it turns you can see that. 06:57.167 --> 06:59.751 align:start There's an adult, which is the one that you saw 06:59.751 --> 07:01.999 align:start with the white ruff. 07:01.999 --> 07:02.751 align:start Yeah. 07:02.751 --> 07:03.999 align:start And if you keep an eye on it, 07:03.999 --> 07:05.999 align:start when it turns it'll show the whites on the back but 07:05.999 --> 07:08.292 align:start the other one is darker and I'm guessing it's one 07:08.292 --> 07:09.375 align:start of the juveniles. 07:09.375 --> 07:11.792 align:start There's two more, there's two more. 07:11.792 --> 07:13.792 align:start This is training flights for, for the young one. 07:13.792 --> 07:15.626 align:start Well, it's surrounded by a whole lot of cliffs and 07:15.626 --> 07:17.459 align:start the temperature of the lake is surely creating 07:17.459 --> 07:19.959 align:start differences in the air temperature so probably 07:19.959 --> 07:23.125 align:start the right conditions for them to swirl around and, 07:23.125 --> 07:27.334 align:start and practice flying with the thermals going up and 07:27.334 --> 07:28.999 align:start then going down. 07:28.999 --> 07:33.999 align:start So, this is a prime area for watching for condors. 07:33.999 --> 07:36.209 align:start Now their wingspan is 3 meters? 07:36.209 --> 07:36.918 align:start Yeah. 07:36.918 --> 07:39.083 align:start That's a very large bird. 07:39.083 --> 07:40.042 align:start 10 feet. 07:40.042 --> 07:41.459 align:start That's a huge bird. 07:41.459 --> 07:43.375 align:start It's very hard to get a real dimension of it when 07:43.375 --> 07:45.167 align:start it's kind of black against the sky, 07:45.167 --> 07:46.999 align:start you think it's kind of small. 07:46.999 --> 07:48.959 align:start Yeah, you can't, there's nothing to compare it with. 07:48.959 --> 07:51.709 align:start If you don't test it there with their wings spread 07:51.709 --> 07:53.999 align:start out and their flight feathers at the end just 07:53.999 --> 07:55.999 align:start like fingertips and they move maybe just very 07:55.999 --> 07:59.626 align:start certainly a few feathers and they kind of soar 07:59.626 --> 08:01.709 align:start around one direction and maybe another, 08:01.709 --> 08:03.209 align:start it's amazing the grace with which. 08:03.209 --> 08:05.542 align:start Very sensitive control, flight control, yes. 08:05.542 --> 08:07.501 align:start But you, you can tell that they, 08:07.501 --> 08:09.584 align:start that's the sheer pleasure of flying, 08:09.584 --> 08:11.626 align:start especially on very, very windy days. 08:11.626 --> 08:13.709 align:start I mean, you're sure to see condors out high. 08:13.709 --> 08:16.999 align:start There are some that must be two miles away. 08:16.999 --> 08:18.999 align:start Yeah, the tip of the, the plateau there. 08:18.999 --> 08:24.334 align:start And they just went down below the tip of that ridge. 08:24.626 --> 08:27.000 align:start These glacial lakes always seem to be just a little 08:27.000 --> 08:27.918 align:start bit cloudy. 08:27.918 --> 08:29.667 align:start Yeah, well, it's from the sediment that collects 08:29.667 --> 08:31.584 align:start from the base of the glacier, it's ground rock, 08:31.584 --> 08:34.584 align:start and so it doesn't allow the sun to reflect the deep blue 08:34.584 --> 08:36.999 align:start that we're accustomed from still sitting lakes 08:36.999 --> 08:39.999 align:start while all the sediment has gone down to the bottom. 08:39.999 --> 08:41.375 align:start This is kind of greenish. 08:41.375 --> 08:43.999 align:start The lighter color it is the nearer is to the glacier. 08:43.999 --> 08:46.459 align:start I see. Well, this, one thing I can do here, 08:46.459 --> 08:49.459 align:start which I could do in no lake in the United States, 08:49.459 --> 08:55.167 align:start cause I know this water is pure, mmm, oh. 08:55.167 --> 08:58.999 align:start There's some evidence that people who drink only 08:58.999 --> 09:01.250 align:start glacial melt water live longer. 09:01.250 --> 09:02.959 align:start So maybe I'll move here. 09:02.959 --> 09:03.999 align:start Yeah, we should. 09:03.999 --> 09:06.542 align:start Say, this is L'agua San Martin in Argentina and in 09:06.542 --> 09:08.834 align:start Chile it has a different name. Right. 09:08.834 --> 09:11.709 align:start Bernardo Higgins, they're named after the two great 09:11.709 --> 09:15.125 align:start leaders of independence here in both countries. 09:15.125 --> 09:17.501 align:start When you get to the border the name changes. 09:17.501 --> 09:19.083 align:start Right, exactly so. 09:19.083 --> 09:23.209 align:start But this great lake was probably even greater in the past. 09:23.209 --> 09:27.667 align:start We can see behind us old terraces that indicate, 09:27.667 --> 09:30.000 align:start you know, a higher level of the lake. 09:30.000 --> 09:34.125 align:start So it was that, at that height within the last 15, 09:34.125 --> 09:35.751 align:start 20,000 years. 09:35.751 --> 09:37.999 align:start Well, at least during the Halocene so it must have 09:37.999 --> 09:40.459 align:start been that or then maybe less within the last 09:40.459 --> 09:41.959 align:start 10,000 years. 09:41.959 --> 09:43.501 align:start So the terrace would have had, 09:43.501 --> 09:45.334 align:start would have this mix of finer sediments, 09:45.334 --> 09:47.792 align:start the sand and the fine, the small rocks that we have 09:47.792 --> 09:50.999 align:start here, not the big mix of rocks that would be pushed 09:50.999 --> 09:53.999 align:start forward by the glacier like a bulldozer which 09:53.999 --> 09:56.375 align:start mixes everything up of any size. 09:56.375 --> 09:58.792 align:start You look at this you want to go swimming, 09:58.792 --> 09:59.999 align:start from a picture. 09:59.999 --> 10:01.459 align:start Oh, yeah, definitely. 10:01.459 --> 10:03.083 align:start But the temperature is probably, what, 10:03.083 --> 10:04.918 align:start maybe 3 or 4 degrees above freezing? 10:04.918 --> 10:06.709 align:start Uh, yeah, something like 4 degrees, 10:06.709 --> 10:09.709 align:start can't be any warmer than that. 10:09.709 --> 10:19.999 align:start The vegetation here shows the adaptation to the cold. 10:19.999 --> 10:20.959 align:start And to the wind, right? 10:20.959 --> 10:22.999 align:start And to the wind of course, you musn't forget the wind. 10:22.999 --> 10:25.834 align:start We have these cushion bushes that accumulate on 10:25.834 --> 10:28.999 align:start the landscape here and we have yellow flowers on 10:28.999 --> 10:31.000 align:start this bush which is quite spiny. 10:31.000 --> 10:34.167 align:start Oh, my god, somebody had a weird sense of humor 10:34.167 --> 10:35.584 align:start there,I don't wanna sit on that. 10:35.584 --> 10:37.292 align:start And you have other things growing out of it like 10:37.292 --> 10:39.709 align:start these grasses and the white flowers over there. 10:39.709 --> 10:40.959 align:start Oh, so they're protecting, they are, 10:40.959 --> 10:42.999 align:start they're a medium for other plants to come out of. 10:42.999 --> 10:43.501 align:start Right, yeah. 10:43.501 --> 10:45.876 align:start You find them along the ground and also in fields 10:45.876 --> 10:48.751 align:start where there's been a lot of overgrazing. 10:48.751 --> 10:52.209 align:start And the other plant that we have here is this 10:52.209 --> 10:54.999 align:start coiron which is a grass that you 10:54.999 --> 10:57.792 align:start find on the Pampas of Patagonia. 10:57.792 --> 10:59.626 align:start Coiron. Mm mm. 10:59.626 --> 11:01.999 align:start That's big, big clumping bay. 11:01.999 --> 11:05.125 align:start The leaves of the coiron are very spiny. 11:05.125 --> 11:08.209 align:start They end up in a sharp point and there's a new 11:08.209 --> 11:12.999 align:start broad surface open to moisture loss through evaporation. 11:12.999 --> 11:14.999 align:start Don't want to fall on those. No. 11:14.999 --> 11:18.626 align:start Here we have the siete camisas. Pretty flower. 11:18.626 --> 11:19.584 align:start Seven shirts. 11:19.584 --> 11:21.999 align:start Yeah, well, it changes colors every time from 11:21.999 --> 11:23.459 align:start pinkish to more reddish. 11:23.459 --> 11:25.999 align:start Oh, I see, as a change of shirt, that's good. Yeah. 11:25.999 --> 11:31.999 align:start This is the star bush in Patagonia. 11:31.999 --> 11:34.918 align:start This is the Calafate bush. 11:34.918 --> 11:35.999 align:start Named after the town. Right. 11:35.999 --> 11:38.209 align:start Wait, the town was named after the bush. Right. 11:38.209 --> 11:39.167 align:start And look here. 11:39.167 --> 11:40.999 align:start Oh, there's the flower, there's the flower. 11:40.999 --> 11:41.999 align:start So it's a yellow flower. Yeah. 11:41.999 --> 11:45.125 align:start And we don't get to see it cause that's a few months earlier. 11:45.125 --> 11:47.667 align:start And here we have the berries already ripening 11:47.667 --> 11:50.542 align:start into that deep blue color that makes it so delicious 11:50.542 --> 11:51.999 align:start to eat in the summertime. 11:51.999 --> 11:53.999 align:start So these are edible, you guarantee me. 11:53.999 --> 11:55.626 align:start Yes, and you should. Okay. 11:55.626 --> 11:58.584 align:start I'll tell you why in a second. 11:58.584 --> 12:00.375 align:start A little bit dried, feels like a raisin. 12:00.375 --> 12:03.459 align:start Well, it's still got a few weeks to go for it to 12:03.459 --> 12:05.751 align:start be really ripe. 12:05.751 --> 12:06.999 align:start You said delicious? 12:06.999 --> 12:08.918 align:start Give it a few weeks. 12:08.918 --> 12:12.334 align:start Well, by that time it'll be well, well on its way. 12:12.334 --> 12:16.209 align:start I can see that they're not poisonous immediately. 12:16.209 --> 12:19.876 align:start No. But now you are going to come back to Patagonia 12:19.876 --> 12:21.999 align:start because the story says that once you eat a berry 12:21.999 --> 12:25.459 align:start from a calafate bush you'll come back to Patagonia. 12:25.459 --> 12:28.042 align:start It wouldn't take all that much for me to come back. 12:28.042 --> 12:29.999 align:start That's good. 12:29.999 --> 12:33.876 align:start Between the calafate bush and the town of Calafate 12:33.876 --> 12:36.584 align:start there's a lot of road to travel. 12:36.584 --> 12:40.999 align:start 500 kilometers of mostly empty land. 12:40.999 --> 12:44.042 align:start And these hills are all scoured, 12:44.042 --> 12:46.250 align:start just flattened out by the glacier. 12:46.250 --> 12:53.999 align:start I think the last time it rained here was four months ago. 12:53.999 --> 12:58.125 align:start Hey, a road sign. 12:58.125 --> 13:00.999 align:start Look ahead, you can see the first of the ice 13:00.999 --> 13:02.542 align:start coming out on the lake. 13:02.542 --> 13:04.709 align:start My first freshwater iceberg. 13:04.709 --> 13:07.501 align:start Oh, and it is that iridescent blue. 13:07.501 --> 13:09.417 align:start Oh, great. 13:09.417 --> 13:15.459 align:start Maybe we, if we go on we can see some more. 13:16.751 --> 13:19.501 align:start So this is Calafate. 13:19.501 --> 13:19.959 align:start Yeah. 13:19.959 --> 13:21.999 align:start You know, it's not the prettiest town I've ever 13:21.999 --> 13:25.334 align:start seen but maybe you can tell me why I should like it. 13:25.334 --> 13:28.292 align:start Well, they have every amenity you can think of. 13:28.292 --> 13:30.501 align:start Lodgings, restaurants, but you also have call 13:30.501 --> 13:36.999 align:start centers, ATMs, banks, exchange shops, internet. 13:36.999 --> 13:38.083 align:start Okay, good, there. 13:38.083 --> 13:39.999 align:start Even bars with WiFi. 13:39.999 --> 13:43.501 align:start They have WiFi in Calafate in Patagonia. 13:43.501 --> 13:45.709 align:start Exactly, that's what I mean. 13:45.709 --> 13:46.459 align:start That's great. 13:46.459 --> 13:47.999 align:start Over here you can come with your trip already 13:47.999 --> 13:49.375 align:start planned or you can start planning it here. 13:49.375 --> 13:51.000 align:start There are any number of . There's 37 different 13:51.000 --> 13:53.417 align:start travel agencies that are willing to take you off in 13:53.417 --> 13:57.999 align:start a trek, a climb, a ride, an exploration. 13:57.999 --> 14:01.125 align:start Yeah, however adventurous you are or however laid 14:01.125 --> 14:02.999 align:start back you are. 14:02.999 --> 14:06.459 align:start I tried to come to L'agua Argentino, gosh, 14:06.459 --> 14:09.751 align:start 30 years ago and the guide book described it as a 14:09.751 --> 14:13.584 align:start tiny little town that might or might not have services. 14:13.584 --> 14:14.334 align:start So it's changed. 14:14.334 --> 14:16.375 align:start And the big change has come about as a local 14:16.375 --> 14:19.584 align:start airport that built in a lot of international 14:19.584 --> 14:23.459 align:start tourism and really made this place the gateway 14:23.459 --> 14:24.999 align:start into the glaciers. 14:24.999 --> 14:27.042 align:start I mean, we have anywhere from over 1, 000 14:27.042 --> 14:31.417 align:start people coming into the town and the glaciers. Every day. 14:31.417 --> 14:32.667 align:start Every day during the season, 14:32.667 --> 14:37.584 align:start anywhere from October to, through to Easter in, in April. 14:37.584 --> 14:38.459 align:start It's a boom town. 14:38.459 --> 14:39.876 align:start For better or for worse. 14:39.876 --> 14:41.792 align:start Yeah. 14:41.792 --> 14:46.626 align:start [drums] 14:46.626 --> 14:48.417 align:start With increases in tourism the locals have 14:48.417 --> 14:50.999 align:start seen opportunities to showcase their traditional 14:50.999 --> 15:01.999 align:start music and dance before you take a walk on the glacier. 15:01.999 --> 15:09.250 align:start [music] 15:09.417 --> 15:13.000 align:start So what kind of a name is A la. Caloof. 15:13.000 --> 15:16.542 align:start That's the, the name of an Indian group of canoe 15:16.542 --> 15:18.792 align:start Indians who lived in Tierra del Fuego, so, 15:18.792 --> 15:20.999 align:start I mean, we're ca. not canoeing out but at least 15:20.999 --> 15:22.999 align:start sailing out to the glacier. I see it. 15:22.999 --> 15:25.999 align:start They've become a bit more sophisticated. 15:25.999 --> 15:28.667 align:start The glacier Benita Morena is named after Francisco 15:28.667 --> 15:35.000 align:start Moreno, a famous naturalist who lived in the 1800s. 15:35.000 --> 15:38.584 align:start As a very young man he came to this part of 15:38.584 --> 15:40.751 align:start Patagonia trying to emulate the explorations 15:40.751 --> 15:43.584 align:start of Darwin and Fitzroy and discovered the lake that 15:43.584 --> 15:46.834 align:start feeds off this glacier. 15:46.834 --> 15:49.083 align:start Look at the glacier. 15:49.083 --> 15:51.584 align:start You can see all the pictures in the world but 15:51.584 --> 15:54.167 align:start the reality is something else. I know. 15:54.167 --> 15:55.626 align:start There's nothing that transmits 15:55.626 --> 15:57.584 align:start the emotion, the wind, the cold in 15:57.584 --> 16:00.751 align:start the scale of what we're seeing. 16:00.751 --> 16:03.584 align:start The mountain go, peak goes down and suddenly it's, 16:03.584 --> 16:05.709 align:start it goes straight down. 16:05.709 --> 16:07.459 align:start Yeah, it's a glacial valley, yeah. 16:07.459 --> 16:09.834 align:start Marks the point of how deep the ice once was. 16:09.834 --> 16:11.292 align:start My god, that was deep. 16:11.292 --> 16:14.209 align:start This is a very important water reservoir and the 16:14.209 --> 16:17.000 align:start fact that this originated a million years ago and 16:17.000 --> 16:20.959 align:start continues to this day is a source of interest to 16:20.959 --> 16:23.584 align:start glaciologists because especially at the end of 16:23.584 --> 16:27.125 align:start the Ice Age they believe that any changes in the 16:27.125 --> 16:30.334 align:start weather patterns here could lead to us knowing 16:30.334 --> 16:34.000 align:start how contemporary weather patterns could be affected 16:34.000 --> 16:36.250 align:start by changes on a global level. 16:36.250 --> 16:40.209 align:start So studying a phenomena of glaciations 11 to 15,000 16:40.209 --> 16:43.999 align:start years ago is especially important. 16:43.999 --> 16:47.000 align:start So the origin of a very interesting phenomena is 16:47.000 --> 16:49.709 align:start originated in southern Patagonia and that is 16:49.709 --> 16:52.250 align:start known as the Patagonian ice field, 16:52.250 --> 16:54.999 align:start the continental ice field, which is the third largest 16:54.999 --> 16:59.000 align:start in the world after Antarctica and Greenland. 16:59.000 --> 17:02.125 align:start Looks to me as though a glacier's been here. 17:02.125 --> 17:04.375 align:start Yeah, well, this scoured bedrock, 17:04.375 --> 17:07.501 align:start it's probably not been uncovered that recently. 17:07.501 --> 17:10.999 align:start But look, it's all rounded and gouged out by the ice. 17:10.999 --> 17:13.459 align:start Look what the glacier left behind, 17:13.459 --> 17:15.999 align:start another completely different rock here. 17:15.999 --> 17:19.751 align:start Oh, yeah, that's from way, way far away. 17:19.751 --> 17:24.918 align:start Aya ta ta ta ta. 17:24.918 --> 17:27.417 align:start You look up there and it's psychedelic. 17:27.417 --> 17:30.292 align:start So this is something out ofDuneor, 17:30.292 --> 17:33.501 align:start it's not even Lord of the Rings. 17:33.501 --> 17:36.792 align:start So have you ever been so close to the edge of a glacier? 17:36.792 --> 17:37.209 align:start I never have. 17:37.209 --> 17:40.542 align:start And I can't, I still can't tell how high that really is. 17:40.542 --> 17:44.751 align:start It could be 100 feet, it could be a mile high. 17:44.751 --> 17:47.417 align:start But still, I wouldn't go any closer. 17:47.417 --> 17:48.999 align:start I don't think it's too safe. 17:48.999 --> 17:51.000 align:start It's not fun when you're hit by a calf 17:51.000 --> 17:56.751 align:start falling off and crushed by a million tons of ice? 17:56.751 --> 18:00.999 align:start We're getting up to the place where we fit on our crampons 18:00.999 --> 18:05.042 align:start God, these are almost medieval devices. 18:05.042 --> 18:06.999 align:start So they're really heavy gauge steel. 18:06.999 --> 18:08.999 align:start They're, they're serious footwear. 18:08.999 --> 18:13.292 align:start Well, we need them to be a little bit heavy. 18:13.292 --> 18:15.209 align:start So the people can't run. 18:15.209 --> 18:17.709 align:start The reflection on the ice is also pretty bad. 18:17.709 --> 18:19.999 align:start Oh, we gotta put, we gotta put goggles on 18:19.999 --> 18:20.999 align:start our sunglasses, okay. 18:20.999 --> 18:23.334 align:start Yes, something, because it kinda finds you but. 18:23.334 --> 18:24.999 align:start I feel like I'm gonna walk like a duck. 18:24.999 --> 18:26.792 align:start Part of the technique is like that. 18:26.792 --> 18:28.167 align:start To walk like a duck. 18:28.167 --> 18:28.999 align:start Like a duck. 18:28.999 --> 18:32.834 align:start Well, I have plenty of practice walking like a duck. 18:32.834 --> 18:33.209 align:start Okay. 18:33.209 --> 18:35.999 align:start I think Carlos knows where he's going because 18:35.999 --> 18:37.417 align:start I probably don't. 18:37.417 --> 18:40.834 align:start And the glacier isn't flowing that quickly. 18:40.834 --> 18:46.959 align:start So we're moving even as we speak. Yeah. 18:46.959 --> 18:50.999 align:start Every snow field or glacier is advancing, 18:50.999 --> 18:54.417 align:start sliding down hills because of gravity, 18:54.417 --> 18:59.209 align:start their own weight of the ice or the snow is enough 18:59.209 --> 19:00.792 align:start to make it move. 19:00.792 --> 19:07.000 align:start So glaciers move at higher speed than snow fields. 19:07.375 --> 19:09.626 align:start The dimensions of everything are different 19:09.626 --> 19:12.042 align:start here and it looks as though it's a hundred 19:12.042 --> 19:15.250 align:start miles away to the very highest point I can see. 19:15.250 --> 19:19.667 align:start Or maybe it's just 200 yards, 300 yards, 19:19.667 --> 19:21.999 align:start quarter of a mile, ten miles. 19:21.999 --> 19:22.918 align:start Well, the crampons 19:22.918 --> 19:25.250 align:start make you feel so safe you feel you could go on for 19:25.250 --> 19:28.999 align:start those ten, hundred miles. 19:29.542 --> 19:30.959 align:start Que hondo? 19:30.959 --> 19:32.584 align:start The waterfall over there. 19:32.584 --> 19:34.999 align:start It's almost as if you're in Venezuela at Angel 19:34.999 --> 19:36.999 align:start Falls, the same formation. 19:36.999 --> 19:39.125 align:start But they don't have glaciers underneath them there. 19:39.125 --> 19:42.667 align:start No, or condor flying. Or condor flying up above. 19:42.667 --> 19:46.792 align:start The sky's so blue it looks as if you could even dive into it. 19:46.792 --> 19:48.709 align:start I don't think you should try but somehow the, 19:48.709 --> 19:51.792 align:start the blue of the glacier and the blue of the sky 19:51.792 --> 19:53.292 align:start just seem to merge. 19:53.292 --> 19:54.999 align:start And the white of the clouds and the white of 19:54.999 --> 19:57.083 align:start the glacier merge, you can't tell which begins 19:57.083 --> 19:59.918 align:start and where the other ends. 19:59.918 --> 20:03.999 align:start The snow accumulates over the southern Patagonia ice 20:03.999 --> 20:07.834 align:start field very constantly along the year, 20:07.834 --> 20:09.999 align:start more or less 9,000 millimeters of 20:09.999 --> 20:13.375 align:start precipitation accumulate in the shape of snow. 20:13.375 --> 20:15.542 align:start The fact that the ice field is not under 20:15.542 --> 20:19.626 align:start extremely cold conditions and because of this it is 20:19.626 --> 20:23.876 align:start possible for the vapor to move through the snow. 20:23.876 --> 20:27.501 align:start The snow crystals freeze vapor and vapor moving 20:27.501 --> 20:31.167 align:start through the snow will remodel the snow crystal, 20:31.167 --> 20:35.584 align:start making them get fat and the more fat and dense 20:35.584 --> 20:40.999 align:start they are, more close to be as ice. 20:40.999 --> 20:47.501 align:start So that's the way the snow turns into ice. 20:47.999 --> 20:50.667 align:start The ice on the surface, about 300 years old, 20:50.667 --> 20:58.417 align:start 400 years old, the ice of the base, the basal ice. 20:58.417 --> 21:00.417 align:start Cascada. 21:00.417 --> 21:02.999 align:start Amazing. 21:02.999 --> 21:06.000 align:start How deep do they go, do they go all the way to the bottom? 21:06.000 --> 21:08.334 align:start All the way to the bottom, not always, 21:08.334 --> 21:11.250 align:start because sometimes they connect with the gallery 21:11.250 --> 21:14.292 align:start that would be more or less parallel to the surface. 21:14.292 --> 21:17.834 align:start The easiest way out is what they'll find. Yes. 21:17.834 --> 21:22.999 align:start Sometimes many kilometers the water travels inside 21:22.999 --> 21:27.999 align:start the glacier until finding next hole that will 21:27.999 --> 21:30.542 align:start connect the water with the bedrock. 21:30.542 --> 21:31.667 align:start It's a labyrinth. 21:31.667 --> 21:33.999 align:start It's just like that limestone up there. 21:33.999 --> 21:35.125 align:start Yeah, like vines. Yeah. 21:35.125 --> 21:37.417 align:start Sometimes the movement of the glacier don't let the 21:37.417 --> 21:41.042 align:start water be flushed toward the bedrock. 21:41.042 --> 21:45.250 align:start So the crevice is going to like a pool keeping 21:45.250 --> 21:46.417 align:start the water inside. 21:46.417 --> 21:48.999 align:start And then the pool makes it deeper, huh, itself? 21:48.999 --> 21:50.167 align:start More or less. 21:50.167 --> 21:54.667 align:start The bad thing about pools is after a very cold night 21:54.667 --> 21:59.999 align:start they can get frozen on the surface and if it snows 21:59.999 --> 22:01.459 align:start there's nowhere to hide it. 22:01.459 --> 22:03.709 align:start Oh, so you can't tell that it's under there. Yes. 22:03.709 --> 22:07.584 align:start I hate falling into those. 22:07.584 --> 22:09.792 align:start So this whole mass we're walking on, 22:09.792 --> 22:11.999 align:start how much is it moving a day? 22:11.999 --> 22:14.999 align:start About one and a half meter per day. 22:14.999 --> 22:20.999 align:start So it's moving about 5 feet a day. 22:21.792 --> 22:24.292 align:start I like these nice little steps you're making, Carlos. 22:24.292 --> 22:27.209 align:start It just makes life much easier. 22:27.209 --> 22:28.999 align:start So why do we have a valley here? 22:28.999 --> 22:34.209 align:start Well, because crevices are remodeled by the elements, 22:34.209 --> 22:36.999 align:start the wind, the rain, the heat, 22:36.999 --> 22:39.083 align:start the radiation of the sun will remodel the lift of 22:39.083 --> 22:44.209 align:start the crevices and they'll begin to take these 22:44.209 --> 22:48.999 align:start shapes, they start change their shapes. 22:48.999 --> 22:51.999 align:start It's like the badlands in Utah. 22:51.999 --> 22:54.584 align:start Look at the pool. by the pool. 22:54.584 --> 22:56.000 align:start That water is amazing. 22:56.000 --> 22:58.709 align:start What do you call these formations up here? 22:58.709 --> 23:00.083 align:start The big chunks of ice. 23:00.083 --> 23:02.999 align:start in a precarious balance are sarocks. 23:02.999 --> 23:04.167 align:start Sarocks. 23:04.167 --> 23:06.667 align:start These ice pinnacles 23:06.667 --> 23:10.792 align:start that as the elements erode them they start to become 23:10.792 --> 23:15.167 align:start weak and they can fall down eventually. 23:15.167 --> 23:15.792 align:start Ooh, collapse. 23:15.792 --> 23:17.999 align:start You don't want to go running around them in circles. 23:17.999 --> 23:19.125 align:start No. Okay. 23:19.125 --> 23:21.459 align:start That is the Matterhorn there is it not? 23:21.459 --> 23:22.375 align:start More or less. 23:22.375 --> 23:26.667 align:start Many shapes are like matterhorns here in the glacier. 23:26.667 --> 23:28.999 align:start I think we better continue in that direction. 23:28.999 --> 23:31.375 align:start Okay. Yes. You lead the way. 23:31.375 --> 23:34.417 align:start I hate it when those sarocks fall and crush us all. 23:34.417 --> 23:37.999 align:start Not so often inside the glacier, 23:37.999 --> 23:40.959 align:start more often at the front where the glacier is 23:40.959 --> 23:44.792 align:start pushing against the water and the water affects the 23:44.792 --> 23:49.584 align:start front of the glass here to make it have the shape 23:49.584 --> 23:51.999 align:start of the cliff. 23:51.999 --> 23:53.792 align:start Now the highest point up here, 23:53.792 --> 23:58.667 align:start how high is that above the L'agua Jintino? 23:58.667 --> 23:59.834 align:start 90 meters. Okay. 23:59.834 --> 24:01.042 align:start About 300 feet. 24:01.042 --> 24:02.999 align:start That's, that's a long way up. 24:02.999 --> 24:04.751 align:start A lot of ice. Yes. 24:04.751 --> 24:06.626 align:start It's a lot. 24:06.626 --> 24:09.709 align:start Also, if you consider that under the water level 24:09.709 --> 24:13.501 align:start more ice is present. 24:14.292 --> 24:16.125 align:start A don perito Moreno. 24:16.125 --> 24:21.959 align:start Salud. 24:21.959 --> 24:24.042 align:start 300 year old ice. 24:24.042 --> 24:26.999 align:start You know when you get to a place on the glacier where 24:26.999 --> 24:28.709 align:start you get this itch in your stomach, 24:28.709 --> 24:30.999 align:start this stuff gets right down there and scratches it for 24:30.999 --> 24:35.292 align:start you, after a tough day on the glacier. 24:35.292 --> 24:38.999 align:start Buenos tardes. Buenos tardes. 24:38.999 --> 24:41.501 align:start Visitors now throng to Patagonia, 24:41.501 --> 24:44.083 align:start mostly to see the Andes, the lakes, 24:44.083 --> 24:46.999 align:start and above all the glaciers. 24:46.999 --> 24:48.918 align:start As sensational as these are, 24:48.918 --> 24:52.959 align:start they constitute only a small portion of Patagonia. 24:52.959 --> 24:57.501 align:start The rest remains pretty much as it was a century ago, 24:57.501 --> 25:01.667 align:start a vast, empty land. 25:02.083 --> 25:04.083 align:start Next time onThe Desert Speaks. 25:04.083 --> 25:06.999 align:start Throughout Argentina's Patagonia region there's 25:06.999 --> 25:09.167 align:start evidence of human habitation for thousands 25:09.167 --> 25:10.918 align:start and thousands of years. 25:10.918 --> 25:14.125 align:start .we're in, even in a transition sounds cold but we also have. 25:14.125 --> 25:16.999 align:start The land is daunting but not without 25:16.999 --> 25:21.000 align:start its beautiful side. 25:21.000 --> 25:24.999 align:start Current residents are proud of historic roots. 25:24.999 --> 25:31.459 align:start and are not above good old fashioned rodeo. 25:31.999 --> 25:34.334 align:start The last time I visited Buenos Aires in 2001 the 25:34.334 --> 25:37.542 align:start Argentine economy took a severe hit. 25:37.542 --> 25:40.584 align:start There was a massive devaluation of the 25:40.584 --> 25:43.792 align:start currency which resulted in huge unemployment, 25:43.792 --> 25:48.125 align:start loss of pensions and a disruption that caused 25:48.125 --> 25:51.375 align:start many people to think they would never recover. 25:51.375 --> 25:53.876 align:start But they love their country and somehow they 25:53.876 --> 25:56.501 align:start kept working and today it's almost back to where 25:56.501 --> 26:01.999 align:start it was in those very happy times of 2000, 2001. 26:02.083 --> 26:04.792 align:start Funding for The Desert Speaks 26:04.792 --> 26:07.209 align:start was provided by Desert Program Partners, 26:07.209 --> 26:11.751 align:start representing concerned viewers making a financial commitment 26:11.751 --> 26:14.334 align:start to the education about and preservation of deserts. 26:14.334 --> 26:18.626 align:start And by the Stonewall Foundation. 26:20.167 --> 26:24.709 align:start Copies of the Desert Speaks are available from KUAT. 26:24.709 --> 26:30.000 align:start To order, call 1-800-841-5923 26:30.000 --> 26:33.999 align:start and please be sure to mention the episode number. 26:33.999 --> 26:41.626 align:start For more information visitThe Desert Speaks on-line at this address.