Franz Josef Glacier lasts against melting odds

Franz Josef Glacier is a temperate maritime glacier in New Zealand.

Franz Josef Glacier is 12 kilometres long in the Southern Alps.

The glacier descends to just 300 metres above sea level.

A 20-square-kilometre snowfield feeds the glacier from over 2,500 metres.

The glacier’s high snowfield is over 300 metres deep in places.

Franz Josef Glacier was longer and higher in the early 1700s.

Ice at Franz Josef Glacier moves up to 4.5 metres daily.

Native forest grows on land exposed by glacier retreat over decades.

Snowfall on the glacier’s névé drives its advance or retreat cycles.

Glacier advanced 1,420 metres from 1983 to 1999.

Floods from ice and rain damaged Waiho River bridges several times.

Visitors now fly or hike; walking to the glacier was once easy.

Helicopter tours land guests between icefalls for guided glacier walks.

The village of Franz Josef lies five kilometres from the glacier valley.

Franz Josef Glacier is 12 kilometres long in New Zealand.