VIRTUAL FIELDWORK
Ferpècle Valley
Valais, Switzerland
- supraglacial environment and processes (e.g. debris, meltwater, crevasses)
- glacier retreat and landscape change (especially paraglacial reworking)
- landforms of glacial erosion
The north-facing Ferpècle Valley is located in the upper part of the Val d’Hérens in the canton of Valais, SW Switzerland. This is classic alpine terrain, with narrow, high-elevation summits, most in excess of 3500 m. At 4357 m, Dent Blanche is the highest of these summits – and also arguably the most impressive.
The field trip starts at the dam at the end of the road (~1900 m asl) and then follows the western side of the valley as far as the Mont Miné glacier snout (~2100 m). This is just one of ten or so glaciers within the catchment; unfortunately, these are not visible from the valley-floor route taken by the virtual field trip.
The imagery for this virtual field trip was acquired in June 2017. You can download location data for each of the stops (for viewing in Google Earth, ArcGIS, QGIS etc), although location information is also provided within the virtual field trip itself. There are plans to extend this resource when time and finances allow.
UPDATE: There is now a virtual field trip that climbs the western slopes of the valley, carrying on beyond Bricola. The imagery was acquired in June 2022.
Start of Virtual Field Trip
I'm a Physical Geographer at the University of Worcester (England, UK). Interests include mountain glaciers, mountain geomorphology and Quaternary environmental change. I'm also interested in the use of virtual reality in teaching.
In order to support the ongoing development of this site, it would be really helpful if you could let me know why and how you use the resource. I’d also appreciate hearing any ideas you may have for improvements. Thank you!
This website allows you to explore glaciers and glaciated landscapes using virtual field trips. High quality, 360 degree interactive panoramas (panospheres) allow you to look all around and zoom in on features of interest – a bit like Google Streetview ©.