Glacial calving after earthquake
Published: 8:42PM Wednesday February 23, 2011 Source: ONE NewsYesterday's Christchurch earthquake triggered a spectacular glacier calving at Tasman Glacier Terminal Lake, with a 30 million tonne iceberg calving at Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.
The glacier is New Zealand's longest, and its face was moved approximately 60m above the lake level as a direct result of the quake.
"This gives you some kind of idea of the enormity of this natural phenomenon," said Denis Callesen, the tourism manager for Aoraki Mount Cook Alpine Village.
Tour boat operators in the area said parts of the glacier calved into the Tasman Lake immediately after the quake, breaking into smaller icebergs and causing 3.5 metre-high waves.
The park's base camp - The Hermitage, has been unaffected and is working to ensure rooms are available for visitors who were scheduled to stay in Christchurch.
The calving has been the only known effect of the earthquake on the Aoraki Mount Cook National Park.
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