A Disappearing Act in the Rainforest
The Queulat Hanging Glacier, or Ventisquero Colgante, is a relic of a past ice age, located on a rock face within the Patagonian Andes. This type of glacier originates high on a mountain wall and terminates before reaching the valley floor. The glacier sits on the Queulat ice cap, an 80-square-kilometer ice field. Its meltwater creates the Cascada de Ventisquero Colgante, a waterfall with an estimated drop of 549-600 meters, making it one of the tallest in South America.
The glacier exists within the Valdivian temperate rainforest, an ecosystem that receives up to 4,000 millimeters of rain annually. This environment supports a dense forest of coihue, tepa, and other evergreen species right up to the glacier's edge. The sounds of ice calving from the glacier and crashing below are a frequent occurrence for visitors. The meltwater, full of fine sediment from eroded rock, flows into Laguna Témpanos (Iceberg Lagoon). This sediment, known as glacial flour, stays suspended in the water, scattering sunlight and giving the lake a milky turquoise color.