Glacial river flowing south into Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. Interestingly, the lake is the left over melt-water from Godley Glacier. Several other lakes in inland south island were formed in a similar way. Only a little bit of the Godley Glacier remains today because rising temperatures are melting it down to nothing. Some have projected that this beautiful area will dry up in a few years (more likely a couple hundred years. Click here for more on the lake’s morphology and a fine analysis of natural hazards related to this area). This gorgeous photo represents a supreme example of how glacial systems work.

The stunning patterns are called outwash, which are generally the result of the both glacial melt and the runoff from Mount John (see map here or in my below post!). The wash and these little rivers part of normal cycles of freeze/melts.

unknownskywalker:

Aerial - I © Humayun Qureshi: “Gentle morning light radiates throughout the Mackenzie Basin. The sun was at an altitude of just 11.3 degrees at the time this image was made, which provides for the softness in the quality of light prevalent in the image. In the distance is the beautiful turquoise Lake Tekapo. Lake Tekapo has a surface area of roughly 83 square kilometres and sits approximately 700 metres above sea level. The lake is being fed by the pristine glacial Godley River, seen in the image proper, as a network of braided twists and knots. The water in the lake has flowed 30 kilometres south from the Mount Cook region in the Southern Alps. Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM 1/100s f/10.0 at 105.0mm iso320”“

(via geologyrocks)