Glaciers and there formation

what are glaciers

Glaciers are large masses of frozen ice that move slowly downhill

What happens when a glacier moves

loose rocks and other materials beneath it freeze into the ice and are dragged along like sandpaper. It wears away the surrounding land through erosion

Glacier transport

can carry any size particle an either deposit sediment on the spot or transport it further as water

pyramidal peak

Where several corries cut back to meet at a central point, the mountain takes the form of a steep pyramid.

medial moraine

A moraine formed when two advancing valley glaciers come together to form a single ice stream, forms in the middle of the glacier

how is a medial moraine formed

Formed by two lateral moraines merging when a tributary glacier meets the main glacier

snout of a glacier

the end of a glacier

Accumulation zone of a glacier

where inputs exceed outputs

Ablation zone of a glacier

melting exceeds accumulation throughout the year

Equilibrium line

the boundary between the zone of accumulation and the zone of ablation

examples of pyramidal peaks

Matterhorn (Switzerland) ,Mount Everest (Nepal) and Snowdon (North Wales)

plucking and abrasion

two processes by which glaciers erode the land

What is permafrost?

a thick subsurface layer of ice that remains frozen throughout two years.

transportation of a glacier

Eroded material, such as rock, is moved by the glacier. This material is known as moraine. Some is frozen inside the glacier; some is carried on the top of it and some is pushed in front.

Deposition of a glacier

As ice starts to melt, this moraine is dropped off and this is now known as till or boulder clay. T. Glaciers are capable of transporting even heavy boulders. When these are deposited they are known as erratics.

Arête

If corries form back

Corries

Corries are bowl

Moraine

As the glacier moves down the mountain the air gets warmer. This causes the glacier to begin to melt. At this point everything carried by the glacier is deposited.

4 types of moraines

lateral, medial, ground, terminal

Drumlin

is a long oval hill in the shape of a spoon made of glacial deposits. No one is really sure how drumlins form but it is thought it is caused by the ice becoming overloaded with sediment which leads to it being deposited.

Erratic

are large rocks or boulders that are often found on their own. These rocks have been transported, sometimes over long distances, before being dropped off.

What a glaciers used for

Tourism,Farming,Forestry, Quarrying

retreating glacier

a glacier whose terminus is increasingly retreating upvalley compared to its previous position due to a higher level of ablation compared to accumulation.

Interlocking spurs

A series of ridges projecting out on alternate sides of a valley and around which a river winds its course.

U

shaped valley

advancing glacier

Glacier with a positive budget, so that accumulation results in the lower edges being pushed outward and downward.