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Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand Features of a glacial landscape. Glacier morphology, or the form a glacier takes, is influenced by temperature, precipitation, topography, and other factors. [1] The goal of glacial morphology is to gain a better understanding of glaciated landscapes and the way they are shaped. [2]
Apart from the landforms left behind by glaciers, glaciers themselves are striking features of the terrain, particularly in the polar regions of Earth. Notable examples include valley glaciers where glacial flow is restricted by the valley walls, crevasses in the upper section of glacial ice, and icefalls—the ice equivalent of waterfalls.
At 62 kilometres (39 mi) in length, the pictured Baltoro Glacier is the fifth longest alpine glacier in the world. A glacier (US: / ˈ ɡ l eɪ ʃ ər /; UK: / ˈ ɡ l æ s i ə / or / ˈ ɡ l eɪ s i ə /) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, [2] that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight.
A glacier is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock [2]) formed from snow falling and accumulating over a long period of time; glaciers move very slowly, either descending from high mountains, as in valley glaciers, or moving outward from centers of accumulation, as in continental glaciers.
As the glacier advances, sediment is transported to the bottom of the glacier and deposited. When the glacier melts, this unconsolidated debris forms ridges. The shape of a terminal represents the shape of the glacier snout or terminus. [26] Terminal moraine refers to the moraine occurring at the point of the furthest advance of a glacier.
Most lakes in the world occupy basins scoured out by glaciers. Glacial motion can be fast (up to 30 metres per day (98 ft/d), observed on Jakobshavn Isbræ in Greenland ) [ 1 ] or slow (0.5 metres per year (20 in/year) on small glaciers or in the center of ice sheets), but is typically around 25 centimetres per day (9.8 in/d).
Glaciers will spread out evenly in open areas, but tend to carve deep into the ground when confined to a valley. [1] Ice thickness is a major contributing factor to valley depth and carving rates. As a glacier moves downhill through a valley, usually with a stream running through it, the shape of the valley is transformed.
An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley glaciers (also called mountain glaciers or alpine glaciers) on a mountain mass with protruding rock ridges or summits. [1] They are often found in the colder climates and higher altitudes of the world where there is sufficient precipitation for them to form.