glaciers deserts wind v2

Glacier

A thick ice mass that forms on land over hundreds to thousands of years by accumulation, compaction, and recrystallization of snow.

Alpine Glacier

Rivers of ice in mountains that flow from a snow accumulation center.

Continental Ice Sheets

Ice sheets that flow out in all directions from one or more accumulation centers.

Piedmont Glaciers

Glaciers that occupy broad lowlands at the base of mountains, formed when one or more alpine glaciers emerge onto flat plains.

Zone of Accumulation

The area where more snow falls in the winter than can melt in the summer, leading to ice formation.

Zone of Wastage

The lower part of the glacier which experiences a net loss of snow and ice.

Snowline

The dividing point between the zones of accumulation and wastage, where snow from the previous winter completely melts.

Plucking

A method of glacial erosion where frozen water in bedrock cracks releases blocks of rock into glacial ice.

Abrasion

A method of glacial erosion where rock fragments slide over bedrock like sandpaper.

Alluvial Fan

A cone of river-deposited sediment at the mouth of a canyon.

Bajada

An apron of coalescing alluvial fans along a mountain front.

Inselberg

Bedrock knobs surrounded by sediments, typical of late stage desert erosion.

Desert Pavement

A stony surface veneer composed of large particles that are too heavy to be moved by wind.

Loess

Extensive blankets of wind-blown silt from desert silt or from rock flour from stratified glacial drift.

Sand Dunes

Accumulations of sand that develop where wind is obstructed, serving as indicators of wind direction and sand supply.

Glacial Trough

A deepened, straightened U-shaped valley that was once occupied by a glacier.

Hanging Valley

Valleys of tributary glaciers that are left standing above the main glacial valley.

Cirque

A hollowed-out, bowl-shaped depression with three steep walls, open down-valley.

Horn

A sharp peak at the intersection between numerous cirques.

Arête

A sharp bedrock ridge between two glaciers.

Fjord

A glacial trough that is submerged by rising sea level.