Glacier 2 Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is a glacier?
A massive, slow-moving body of ice and snow that forms in regions where snow persists year-round.
What are the two main types of glaciers?
- Continental glaciers (ice sheets)
- Valley glaciers
What is a continental glacier?
A glacier that covers large parts of continents, such as Antarctica.
What is a valley glacier?
A glacier that forms in mountain ranges where the temperature remains low enough to keep snow from melting in summer.
What landform is created by glaciers that scrapes and erodes both the sides and bottom of a valley?
U-shaped valley
How do U-shaped valleys differ from V-shaped valleys?
U-shaped valleys are carved by glaciers, while V-shaped valleys are carved primarily by rivers.
What is a cirque?
A bowl-shaped basin created by glaciers.
What is an arête?
A sharp ridge formed when glaciers erode from multiple sides.
What is a horn?
A sharp mountain peak created when several cirques erode a mountain from different directions.
What is an ice fall?
A jagged section of broken ice created when a valley glacier flows over steep cliffs.
What is calving?
The process when large chunks break off from a glacier, creating icebergs.
What is pack ice?
A kind of floating ice that is usually thinner (<5m) and more fragile, breaking and melting easily as it moves into warmer water.
What is an ice cap?
A glacier that forms on relatively flat land and flows outward from the center.
What is an ice field?
A larger area feeding multiple glaciers, such as the Columbia Icefield in Canada.
What are striations?
Parallel scratches on rocks caused by debris dragged along the glacier’s base.
What is till?
An unsorted mix of debris like boulders, clay, and sand left behind over a wide area by glaciers.
What is a moraine?
A more localized pile of glacial debris.
What is an esker?
A winding ridge left by meltwater flowing under a glacier.
What is an erratic?
A large rock carried and dropped far from its origin by a glacier.
What causes a glacier to advance?
When ice builds up faster than it melts.
What causes a glacier to retreat?
When it melts more quickly than it accumulates.
What is a flood plain?
A flat area next to a river that may flood.
What is a lake in the context of glacial activity?
A large body of standing water, often formed by glaciers.
Fill in the blank: A __________ is a moving mass of ice and snow.
glacier
