The Aletsch Glacier flows as a curving river of ice below the Jungfrau, formed where three tributary glaciers meet at Concordia Place. Toggle the dark medial moraine stripes and the marker showing the glacier's 1860s ice edge.
Published figures: length about 23 km (the longest glacier in the Alps); area about 80 sq km; ice volume roughly 15 cubic km; the glacier has retreated roughly 3 km since the mid-1800s.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Aletsch Glacier 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows the Aletsch Glacier as a curving river of ice descending through the Bernese Alps below the Jungfrau, formed where three tributary glaciers merge at Concordia Place. Toggle the dark medial moraine stripes left by the merging ice streams, and the marker showing how far the terminus has retreated since the 1860s.
Aletsch is the longest glacier in the Alps, stretching about 23 km and covering roughly 80 sq km of ice, with a volume of about 15 cubic km. It forms at Concordia Place, where the Grosser Aletschfirn, Jungfraufirn, and Ewigschneefeld glaciers converge and leave behind long dark stripes of rock debris - medial moraines - running the length of the ice below. Ice near Concordia Place was historically up to about 800-900 m thick, though it has thinned as the glacier retreats. Like most Alpine glaciers, Aletsch has been retreating since photographic records began in 1856, losing roughly 3 km in length; the terrain beyond today's ice edge, once covered by ice, is now bare moraine-strewn rock.
- Toggle the medial moraines to see the dark stripes left where the three tributary glaciers merge
- Toggle the 1860s ice edge marker to see how far downstream the glacier used to reach
- Read length, area, thickness, and heritage figures in the panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Length | about 23 km - the longest glacier in the Alps |
| Area | about 80 sq km of ice |
| Volume | roughly 15 cubic km |
| Confluence | Grosser Aletschfirn, Jungfraufirn, and Ewigschneefeld meet at Concordia Place |
| Ice thickness | historically up to about 800-900 m near Concordia Place, thinning as the glacier retreats |
| Nearby peak | overlooked by the Jungfrau, about 4,158 m, in the Bernese Alps |
| Heritage status | part of the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001 |
| Retreat | roughly 3 km shorter since the mid-1800s, documented in photographs since 1856 |
For another ice-cap landscape, open the Vatnajokull 3D Explorer, or for another Alpine peak nearby try the Matterhorn 3D Explorer.
The whole scene - the curving valley, the ice surface, the medial moraines, and the historic edge marker - is built and drawn on your own device with WebGL through the site-vendored three.js engine. Orbit the scene to trace the moraine stripes from Concordia Place down to today's ice edge, and toggle the 1860s marker to see the retreat distance. Nothing about your visit is uploaded to a server, and the engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is then cached.
This is an educational approximation - the valley curve, ice surface, moraine stripes, and historic-edge marker are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Aletsch Glacier?
About 23 km, making it the longest glacier in the Alps. It covers roughly 80 sq km of ice with a volume of about 15 cubic km.
What are the dark stripes on the ice?
Medial moraines - long bands of rock debris carried along where the Grosser Aletschfirn, Jungfraufirn, and Ewigschneefeld glaciers merge at Concordia Place and flow together down the valley.
What is Concordia Place?
The wide confluence area near the head of the glacier where its three tributary glaciers meet. Ice there was historically up to about 800-900 m thick, though it has thinned as the glacier retreats.
Has the Aletsch Glacier been shrinking?
Yes. It has retreated roughly 3 km since the mid-1800s, documented in photographs since 1856, with the pace of retreat accelerating in recent decades.
Is the Aletsch Glacier protected?
Yes. It lies within the Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed since 2001.
Is this a scientific terrain model?
No. It is an educational explorer using published figures - the valley curve, ice surface, moraine stripes, and historic-edge marker are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.