Glacier des Sources de l'Isère

Val-d'Isère

The Isère is born from a glacier, the glacier des Sources de l'Isère, below the Grande Aiguille Rousse, in the Graian Alps, in the commune of Val-d'Isère. It lies in the Vanoise national park, a few metres from the Franco-Italian border, at about 2,900 m above sea level. The two versions of Wikipedia consulted give similar but different coordinates, a few hundred metres apart. At 286.1 km long according to the Wikipedia FR infobox, the river flows into the Rhône at La Roche-de-Glun, at around 110 m above sea level; its average flow is 333 m³/s at Beaumont-Monteux. The name is attested in Antiquity in the form Isara. It is probably non-Celtic but was adopted very early by the Celts, and linked to an Indo-European root meaning ‘impetuous, fast’, related to Sanskrit isiráh; the same root is found in the Bavarian Isar and the Yser. The article deals with neither legend nor controversy over the source; it only lists ‘Le serpent et le dragon’ as a link, without detail. Downstream, the Tignes dam flooded the original village in 1952. The current size of the glacier is not documented in the sources consulted.

Getting there: Coordinates from the Wikipedia FR infobox (areq.net copy); Wikipedia EN gives 45.4458 N, 7.0964 E, a few hundred metres' difference. High glacial mountain, near the Italian border, in the Vanoise national park: access on foot, preferably with a guide (to be checked).

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound