Arrow Glacier & Drygalsky Glacier

Arrow Glacier Elevation / Altitude: 5,470 meters

Arrow Glacier a remnant of what used to be known as the Little Barranco glacier no longer exists. This Glacier, together with the Drygalski Glacier have both ceased to exist on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania after melting away, with the main cause being global warming.

Facts about the Arrow Glacier

– Arrow Glacier used to be called ‘Little Barranco Glacier’ which lies along Kilimanjaro’s Lemosho Route.
– This small surviving piece of glacier no longer exists on Mount Kilimanjaro, and once a glacier disappears it cannot come back.

Location of the Arrow Glacier

The Arrow Glacier is located on the western slope of Mount Kilimanjaro’s Kibo Peak and is a small remnant of an icecap that once used to sit on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, near where the Uhuru peak lies. The glacier can be located at an altitude of between 5,470 and 5,300 meters (17,950 and 17,390 ft). Arrow Glacier is very close to the hazardous Western Breach Route otherwise known as the Arrow Glacier Route and it also sits close to the Lemosho Route. 

There is camp on Mount Kilimanjaro, known as the Arrow Glacier Camp, which is located near this glacier and named after the same. It is an active campsite used for accommodation on the mountain.

The Drygalski Glacier

Drygalski Glacier used to exist on Mount Kilimanjaro on the northwestern slope of the Kibo Peak on this mountain in East Africa’s Tanzania. It used to be part of the larger Northern Icefield but not anymore. The Northern Ice Field used to supply the glacier lip, which previously reached a height of 4,800 meters (15,700 feet), with its origination point close to Mount Kilimanjaro’s peak, the Uhuru Peak. Until recently, the Credner Glacier fronted Drygalski Glacier to the north, while the Great Penck Glacier did the same to the south. Erich von Drygalski, a German geographer, is the one that the Drygalski Glacier was named after.

Additional information