The Little Ice Age
The Little Ice Age — abbreviated LIA — was a period of cooler climate in the Northern Hemisphere that began roughly in the late 13th century, peaked in the 17th, and ended in the mid-19th. It is the reason why Chamonix, Grindelwald and Innsbruck all have church records of glaciers reaching their pre-1850 maxima and of villages buying mass against threatening ice.
When it happened
Estimates vary. Most glaciologists date the LIA from around 1300 to 1850, with peaks of cold in the 1650s and 1810s. The cold was not uniform — some decades were nearly modern in warmth — but the overall climate was 1-1.5 degrees cooler than today.
Why it happened
Multiple causes interact:
- Reduced solar output. The Maunder Minimum (1645-1715) and other low-sunspot phases reduced incoming energy.
- Volcanic eruptions. A string of major eruptions (Samalas 1257, Huaynaputina 1600, Tambora 1815) injected sulphate into the atmosphere, cooling the climate.
- Internal climate variability. North Atlantic ocean circulation shifts amplified the cold in Europe.
How glaciers responded
Alpine glaciers grew to their largest extent of the last 9 000 years during the LIA. Many descended into agricultural valleys — the Mer de Glace and the Lower Grindelwald glacier each destroyed villages. Mass services and processions were held to plead with glaciers to retreat.
Why we still see it
The maps and moraine ridges that visitors encounter at most alpine glaciers — the boundary between forested slopes and bare gravel, typically 1-2 km below the current snout — mark the LIA maximum. The "trim line" visible on many cliffsides is the upper limit of LIA ice thickness.
Visiting LIA evidence
- Chamonix. Mer de Glace LIA moraines, easily walked.
- Grindelwald. Lower Grindelwald LIA reach into the village.
- Engadin. Morteratsch retreat markers from 1850 to today.
- Vienna. Pasterze LIA limit at the Mollwurzboden.
Explore on the map
Toggle the "LIA maximum" overlay on the interactive map to see the dramatic difference between 1850 ice cover and today's.