Glaciers

By Mrs. Heinke All photos taken by Mr. and Mrs. Heinke at Glacier National Park

Grinnell Glacier

What are Glaciers?

Masses of moving ice on land Forms when snow falls and freezes faster than it can melt. Snow freezes to ice, more snow falls and freezes to ice, building up into a large mass of ice. Pressure on the lower layers causes melting, which acts as a lubricant for the glacier, causing it to move Speed of glacier depends on friction between the ice and rock

How do Glaciers move?

Plastic ow- the ice deforms because of pressure- more of an oozing movement Basal Sliding- the lowest layer melts completely, and the glacier slips on liquid water- more of a sliding movement Slowly- between and inch and a couple feet per day (depends on friction) Retreats and Advances- often moves back and forth

U-Shaped Valley

U-Shaped Valley
As glaciers move through

mountain valleys, they widen and deepen the valleys into a U-shape. Glaciers smooth the valley oor and walls through Plucking. Plucking is when bedrock sticks to the glacier and is pulled from the mountain.

Cirque
Forms through a process of

freezing, thawing, and plucking. The freeze-thaw cycle breaks down the rock and causes avalanches, which causes the glacier to grow. The thawing causes the glacier to move, which plucks away the sides of the mountain.

How many cirques do you see?

Cracker Lake cirque

Ptarmigan Wall- an Arete

Created when two

glaciers erode back to back on either side of a mountain.

Horne
Similar to an arete The glaciers circle

part of the mountain and continue plucking until all that is left is a horne.

Glacial Till
Rocks plucked from the

mountain by the glacier Till moves with the glacier until it is dropped through melting

Moraine
A build-up of glacial

till deposited by the glacier Terminal moraines are formed at the end of the glaciers pathlets geologists know how far a glacier moved Lateral moraines are formed on the sides of the glaciers path

Glacial Abrasion (scraping)

Glacial Striation and Chatter Marks

Caused by abrasion Glacial till that is

carried with the glacier scrapes against the bedrock, which is visible as striations Larger pieces of till will leave gouges, or chatter marks, in the bedrock from skipping over the bedrock

Glacial Flour
Created by glacial abrasion As the till scrapes against the

bedrock, it grinds the rock into ne particles, much like our

Glacial Lakes
Glacial our makes its way

into streams and lakes The water appears brilliantly blue as a result of the way light reects off the our