9-593: Chorabari Lake , also known as Gandhi Sarovar , was a glacial lake at the snout of the Chorabari Glacier at an altitude of 3,900 m (12,800 ft). It was about 2 km (1.2 mi) upstream from the town of Kedarnath in the Indian state of Uttarakhand , part of the Mandakini River system. On 17 June 2013, the moraine holding back the waters of the lake gave way and vast quantities of water cascaded down
18-406: The change in location of a glacier terminus is a method of monitoring a glacier's movement. The end of the glacier terminus is measured from a fixed position in neighboring bedrock periodically over time. The difference in location of a glacier terminus as measured from this fixed position at different time intervals provides a record of the glacier's change. A similar way of tracking glacier change
27-431: The event, as much of the moraine had been washed away. What remains of Chorabari Lake is a boulder-strewn flat area with a small rivulet flowing through it. 30°44′51″N 79°03′39″E / 30.74750°N 79.06083°E / 30.74750; 79.06083 Glacier terminus A glacier terminus , toe , or snout , is the end of a glacier at any given point in time. Although glaciers seem motionless to
36-484: The morning of 17 June, an avalanche swept into the lake, putting immense pressure on the dam, which then burst. Water cascaded into the valley below, taking with it enormous boulders and great quantities of debris. The whole lake emptied in five to ten minutes. The volume of water that escaped was estimated to be 262,000,000 L (212.4 acre-feet), and the peak discharge rate was estimated to be about 1,700 m (60,000 cu ft) per second. The lake did not reform after
45-481: The observer, in reality they are in endless motion and the glacier terminus is always either advancing or retreating. The location of the terminus is often directly related to glacier mass balance , which is based on the amount of snowfall which occurs in the accumulation zone of a glacier, as compared to the amount that is melted in the ablation zone . The position of a glacier terminus is also impacted by localized or regional temperature change over time. Tracking
54-409: The valley below, causing a catastrophic flash flood. The lake did not reform after the event because much of the moraine had been washed away, leaving a boulder-strewn flat area with a small stream flowing through it. The Chorabari Glacier is in a cirque some 6 km (3.7 mi) wide, and the meltwater flows down a narrow steep-sided valley. The instability of the alpine soils and deforestation of
63-542: The valley sides caused large quantities of glacial debris and sediment to accumulate and form a moraine at the foot of the glacier. Like many others, the Chorabari Glacier has been shrinking during the 21st century, and by 2013 the snout of the glacier had retreated several hundred metres from the moraine. Below the glacier, water had been accumulating, dammed back by the moraine, and formed a lake some 250 m (820 ft) long and 150 m (492 ft) wide. Its depth
72-481: Was 15 to 20 m (49 to 66 ft), depending on the time of year. The water in the lake mostly accumulated from rainfall and melting snow in its catchment area. A monitoring camp set up beside the glacier by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Ecology was monitoring water levels in the lake; most years, the water depth increased by between 2 and 4 m (7 and 13 ft) at the start of the monsoon. Chorabari Lake
81-510: Was renamed Gandhi Sarovar after some of Mahatma Gandhi 's ashes were scattered in the lake. This caused many pilgrims visiting the temple at Kedarnath to undertake the trek to the lake. The monsoon rainfall was very heavy in Uttarakhand in June 2013. In the upper Chorabari catchment, incessant rainfall and rapid melting of snow caused the water level in the lake to rise by 7 m (23 ft). On
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