Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium) grows by the Mer de Glace (Sea of Ice), a classic glacier easily accessible via cog railway or day hike from Chamonix, France, Europe. At 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) long, it is the longest glacier in France. The glacier was once easily visible from Chamonix, but has been shrinking and is now barely visible from below. In the 1700s and 1800s, the glacier descended down to the hamlet of Les Bois, where it was formerly known as Glacier des Bois. Above rise the sharp Needles of Chamonix (Les Aiguilles du Chamonix).
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