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Morteratsch railway station

Railway stations in GraubündenRailway stations in Switzerland opened in 1908Rhaetian Railway stationsSwiss railway station stubs
2012 08 19 12 16 34 Switzerland Kanton Graubünden Morteratsch
2012 08 19 12 16 34 Switzerland Kanton Graubünden Morteratsch

Morteratsch railway station is a railway station in the municipality of Pontresina, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is located on the Bernina line of the Rhaetian Railway. The Morteratsch Glacier lies some 3 km (1.9 mi) to the south of the station and can be reached by a marked hiking trail.The station has a single through track and a single platform with a station building. There is a siding in the station, and a passing loop just outside the station in the northbound direction. In the southbound direction the line passes over the Ova da Morteratsch on a railway bridge immediately after the station platform, and then over the Ova da Bernina on a viaduct some 200 m (660 ft) later.The Hotel-Restaurant Morteratsch, which adjoins the station to the north, predates the railway. When it was built it was very close to the tongue of the glacier, which has since receded due to global warming, and benefited from significant tourist traffic. As a result, the line from Pontresina was opened in 1908, and the station was the terminus of the line until the section over the Bernina pass was opened in 1910. Even then it was originally intended as the winter terminus of the line, with the line over the pass operating only during the summer months, a situation that continued until it was decided to open the line throughout starting with the winter of 1913/4.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Morteratsch railway station (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Morteratsch railway station

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N 46.450720038889 ° E 9.9404100611111 °
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5
7504
Grisons, Switzerland
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2012 08 19 12 16 34 Switzerland Kanton Graubünden Morteratsch
2012 08 19 12 16 34 Switzerland Kanton Graubünden Morteratsch
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Morteratsch Glacier
Morteratsch Glacier

The Morteratsch Glacier (Romansh: Vadret da Morteratsch) is the largest glacier by area in the Bernina Range of the Bündner Alps in Switzerland.By area and by volume (1.2 km3), it is the third largerst glacier in the eastern alps, after the Pasterze Glacier and Gepatschferner. The Morteratsch Glacier is a typical valley glacier with a pronounced ice front. The accumulation zone lies between the peaks of Piz Morteratsch, Piz Bernina, Crast' Agüzza, Piz Argient, Piz Zupò and Bellavista. From Piz Argient to the ice front in the Val Morteratsch, its horizontal extent is less than ~6 km (3.7 mi), with an altitude difference of up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft).Together with the Pers Glacier, originating at Piz Palü, which joins the Morteratsch just below the rock formation Isla Persa ("Lost Isle"), as of 1973 it covered an area of about 16 km2 (6.2 sq mi). The volume of the ice is estimated to be about 1.2 km3. The Morteratsch Glacier drains into the Ova da Morteratsch, which eventually flows into the Inn and hence via the Danube into the Black Sea.In spring, depending on the snow conditions, a 10-km-long ski-run accessible to skilled skiers is marked on the glacier. It leads from the Diavolezza aerial tramway terminus to the Morteratsch inn and has an altitude difference of 1,100 m (3,600 ft). The Morteratsch railway station used to be situated directly at the ice front of the glacier. The ice front has receded over 2,800 m (9,200 ft) in the meantime (as of 2016), and can no longer be seen from the station.Yearly length change measurements have been recorded since 1878. For the period to 1998, the overall retreat was over 1.8 km (1.1 mi) with a mean annual retreat rate of approximately 17.2 m (56 ft) per year. This long-term average has markedly increased in recent years, receding 30 m (98 ft) per year from 1999–2005. Substantial retreat was ongoing through 2006 as well. During the last ten years, it lost another 1 kilometre (0.62 mi).During the time that measurements have been taken, the glacier has advanced a few meters in only four years. Since the large glaciers react slowly to short-term climate changes, these advances cannot be accounted for by increased precipitation in the accumulation zone in the previous winter. On the high moraines to the left and right of the ice front, which are still nearly free of overgrowth, the enormous quantities of ice which were still being pushed down here at the end of the "Little Ice Age" in the middle of the 19th century can be seen.In 2017, researchers began developing a snowmaking system to protect the glacier's ice, with a goal of covering square kilometer in 13 feet of snow. It was estimated that a decade of use might make a difference in length of 400-500 meters.