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Last updated: May 27, 2001	Unless otherwise specified; text, tables, photographs, maps and other graphics © 1999-2001 Gunnar Ljungstrand
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The larger glaciers of Okstindan

Okstindan is the southernmost high mountain area in Northern Norway. Okstindan proper is a mighty massif just to the south of Svartisen. It contains the highest peak of Northern Norway, Oksskolten (1915 m), and is covered by an extensive complex ice field, Okstindbreen. The area around does not reach anything near that height, even if there ar a few fairly high peaks to the south, in the Børgefjell area.

Contents

The larger glaciers of Okstindan with basic data

Map over Okstindan

Table over the glaciers of Okstindan larger than 5 km² (glacier complexes treated as one unit)

Table over the glaciers of Okstindan larger than 5 km² (glacier complexes divided into ice streams)

Table over the larger glaciers of Okstindan with basic data

Map over Okstindan

Map over the glaciers of Okstindan. (51 kB)

1. Okstindbreen

Okstindbreen (53.81 km²) is a large glacier complex to the south of Svartisen. It is somewhat of a hybrid, since the western part is an ice cap, while the eastern is a continuos system of alpine ice streams. The largest outlets are Austre Okstindbreen and Mørkbekkbreen.

1a. Austre Oksfjellbreen

Austre Oksfjellbreen (3.22 km²) is an outlet towards the S from the western part of Okstindbreen. It flows down from the ice dome (1392 m) with a small icefall towards the narrow Oksfjelldalen, on which floor there is a 2 km long active sandur. There is a depression below Vesttinden at the northeast edge. During the Little Ice Age the ice front stood some 1.5 km farther out into the valley.

1b. Vestre Oksfjellbreen

Vestre Oksfjellbreen (1.69 km²) is a small patch of western Okstindbreen, towards the S and Oksfjelldalen.

1c. Mørkbekkbreen

Mørkbekkbreen (9.27 km²) is the largest outlet from the western part of Okstindbreen. It flows down towards the NW in a shallow and flat depression, until it arrives at the drop down towards lake Mørkbekktjørna, where ice masses fall down in a 500 m wide and 200 m high icefall.

The increasing ice flow of the latest years have formed a small regenerated glacier below the cliff. During the Little Ice Age Mørkbekkbreen filled up the entire valley and lake and extended down to 770 m asl, a position 1.2 km farther down than the current.

Mørkbekkbreen contains unusually large ice crystals, like this roughly 10x10x15 cm large specimen.

You easily reach the glacier after slightly less than an hourīs hike on a good path up from the end of the construction road in Leirskardalen. The tiny hut Steinbua lies just within the terminal moraines on the northeastern side.

Stereo image of Mørkbekkbreen from N.

1d. Gråfjellbreen

Gråfjellbreen (1.21 km²) is a small ice cap at the north edge of western Okstindbreen.

1e. Jordbrubreen

Jordbrubreen (3.71 km²) is a complicated outlet from the western part of Okstindbreen, which sends down several small narrow tongues into lake Okstindtjørna in a 1.7 km wide and 300 m high icefall. This glacier too has begun to readvance somewhat in the last few years and has started calving in the lake again.

1f. Vestre Okstindbreen

Vestre Okstindbreen (3.55 km²) is a complex outlet towards the north from the central part of Okstindbreen. In its upper part, between Okstinden (1804 m) and Tvillingtindan (1824 m) there is an ice pass across to the large Austre Okstindbreen. From there the ice flows down through a 600 m wide and 200 m high icefall and ends with a small ice cliff in a little lake.

1g. Okskalvbreen

Okskalvbreen (0.62 km²) is a small patch of the northern part of Okstindbreen, south of Okskalvane.

1h. Austre Okstindbreen

Austre Okstindbreen (14.22 km²) is a very large valley glacier, and the largest outlet of Okstindbreen. Its accumulation area is an extensive basin, which then is concentrated wedge-like into a massive tongue. It slides over a rock step in a rather large icefall, and then turns eastward. The southern part of Austre Okstindbreen is more plateau-like, with several ice passes, amongst others across to Vestre Okstindbreen.

Austre Okstindbreen has been the object for massbalace investigations, performed by the University of Århus, Denmark, since 1987. During the latest years Okstindbreen too has received more snow in winter, which has lead to positive mass balance. However, it will take a number of years before this extra ice has moved down to the snout, causing an advance. Stereo image of a crevasse on Austre Okstindbreen.

A few km upwards from the snout Austre Okstindbreen flows down across a rock step, forming a pretty extensive 500 m wide and 300 m high icefall. Since the ice is shattered primarily at the eastern side the icefall may be circumvented in the west. In the western part of the tongue, between Kjennvasshammaren and Okskalvan, the ice dams a little lake, Kalvtjørna, with a 300 m wide ice cliff. The lake has its outflow in the west however.

During the whole 20th century Austre Okstindbreen has been in retreat. As late as around year 1900 the front stood just a few hundred m behind its outermost terminal moraines, but around 1920 a rapid retreat started, which accelerated even more during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1945 the outermost little lake, Bretjørna, started to form. The inner lake started to be uncovered from beneath the ice in 1962, and has been growing ever since. However, the lakes are too shallow for any significant calving to have taken place.

During the Little Ice Age the glacier was much more extensive, and the snout was some 2.0 km east of the current position. The northern part of the tongue then spread out across the pass point between Kjennvasshammaren and Ridarn, but the ice has retreated some 600 m in that direction since then, and does no longer drain to the north as well.

The speed in the icefall is probably quite high. Here lateral crevasses can be seen, indicating at least 10-12 m movement since the end of winter at the eastern edge of the glacier. (A snow drift lies at the edge of the ice, the ice moves forward, pulls along some of the snow, and forms these crevasses.) Austre Okstindbreen is easily reached after a 45 minute hike up from the construction road at Austre Kjennsvatnet.

1i. Corneliussenbreen

Corneliussenbreen (3.11 km²) is a fairly large valley glacier in the eastern part of Okstindbreen. It starts in a deep cirque between Okshornet and Svartfjellet, but is despite most of it being rather flat heavily crevassed. This may indicate either a very irregular bed, och unusually high velocity.

Since 1970 this glacier has advanced some 200 m, and now flows over a rock step in a 600 m wide and 150 m high icefall. It is still some 800 m behind its outermost terminal moraines from the Little Ice Age, though.

1j. Austre Svartfjellbreen

Austre Svartfjellbreen (1.75 km²) is a cirque glacier in the eastern part of Okstindbreen. Formerly it sent down a tongue in a small valley, but now the ice stops at the edge.

1k. Hekkelbreen

Hekkelbreen (0.61 km²) is a small cirque glacier on Hekkelfjellet in the southeasternmost part of Okstindbreen.

1l. Vestre Svartfjellbreen

Vestre Svartfjellbreen (2.22 km²) is a cirque glacier in southern Okstindbreen. It hangs out across the cliff edge above Steikvassdalen in a 500 m wide and 200 m high icefall.

1m. Steikvassbreen

Steikvassbreen (4.54 km²), a very large cirque glacier in southern Okstindbreen, lies east of Kvassnip and Bessedørtinden. It sends down a narrow tongue in Gryta, the innermost of Steikvassdalen. Steikvassbreen is steep and heavily crevassed, and in its northern part ice masses avalanche down from hanging glaciers on Kvassnip. During the Little Ice Age the tongue filled up the entire valley end, ice avalanced down on it fromn Vestre Svartfjellbreen, and the ice front stood roughly 1.0 km from the current position.

1n. Bessedørbreen

Bessedørbreen (4.09 km²) is a pretty large valley glacier in the southern part of Okstindbreen, but is still just a shadow of its former self. This glacier has retreated 2.1 km from its outermost terminal moraine and lost its entire lower part. This among other reasons due to large chunks being separated from the main ice. Today Bessedørbreen has two tongues; one to the west and another to the east of a rock knob, which used to be a small nunatak. The eastern tongue is fed by a small icefall.

Okstindan Glacier Project, University of Manchester

2. Charles Rabot-breen

Charles Rabot-breen (0.98 km²) is a cirque glacier at the east side of the massif, between Oksskolten and Okshornet. Investigations of both mass balance and ice movement has been performed here; the latter indicated an extremely slow ice movement - almost as to classifying the ice as stagnant. However, during later years the ice has become thicker in the upper parts, and the ice movement increased, as shown by a small icefall in the upper part of Charles Rabot-breen.

During the Little Ice Age the ice front stood just below 1000 m asl, some 450 farther out than today, but since the 1960s the front has been roughly stable.

3. Langskardbreen

Langskardbreen (1.32 km²) is an irregular ice cap on Langskardfjellet NE of Tosenfjorden.

4. Blåfjellbreen

Blåfjellbreen (1.34 km²), an ice cap, also lies on Langsskardfjellet. This and the previous glacier are remnants of a larger continuos ice cap, which has fragmented.

5. Golverbreen

Golverbreen (1.92 km²) is a small glacier complex to the north of Golvertinden.

5a. Lappskardbreen

Lappskardbreen (0.71 km²), a small ice cap in Golverbreen, lies on the west side of Golvertinden.

5b. Golvertindbreen

Golvertindbreen (1.21 km²) is a cirque glacier in Golverbreen at the east side of Golvertinden.

6. Golverskardbreen

Golverskardbreen (3.74 km²), or Plietjedelte in Lappish, is a pretty large and wide valley glacier on the southeast flank of Golvertinden (1682 m), and the largest glacier in the Børgefjell area.

7. Kvigtindbreen

Kvigtindbreen (2.66 km²) is a valley glacier at the east side of Kvigtinden (1699 m) in Børgefjell. It is fairly even, but there are steeper areas in the upper part.

The glaciers of Okstindan larger than 5 km²

(Glacier complexes treated as one unit)

The glaciers of Okstindan larger than 5 km²

(Glacier complexes divided into ice streams)

	Top of document	The larger glaciers of Svartisen	The larger glaciers of Norway	The larger glaciers of Dovre	Site map	Email the author	Copyleft information	Detta dokument på svenska
Last updated: May 27, 2001	Unless otherwise specified; text, tables, photographs, maps and other graphics © 1999-2001 Gunnar Ljungstrand
	Images with size information (xx kB) leads to the corresponding image in 4 x better resolution.