Glaciers of South America --

GLACIERS OF COLOMBIA

By FABIAN HOYOS-PATIÑO

SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD

Edited by RICHARD S. WILLIAMS, Jr., and JANE G. FERRIGNO

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 1386-I-2

Colombia has many small glaciers that have a total area of approximately 104 square kilometers on six nevados in four areas within the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Cordillera Oriental, and Cordillera Central. The largest glacier (less than 20 square kilometers) is an ice cap on the active Nevado del Ruiz volcano. A consistent and progressive loss of glacier and snowpack area has been noted since the late 1800's in the Colombian Andes, and many glaciers have disappeared altogether during the 20th century