Glaciers
Glaciers are one of the many amazing landforms on this Earth. They affect many things in many different ways. Glaciers also form in a unique way. Certain things must occur in order for a glacier to form. Glaciers for where there are many large snowfalls and the temperatures remain very cold all year. They form in high mountains where the snow that falls in the winter does not completely melt in the summer, while other glaciers form in the Polar Regions or the world. The snow builds up over the years and then gradually turns to ice. Repeated thawing and refreezing first transforms the snowflakes into a mass of small ice granules called firn or neve. As more snow piles on top of it, the firn becomes more and more tightly packed. Eventually, the weight and pressure becomes so great that the ice begins to ooze slowly down slope, or, in the case of an ice sheet, to spread outward on all sides. You may not be aware of it, but glaciers are in movement all the time. When glaciers move, the movement is barely perceptible, with the ice averaging less that a foot a day. Some glaciers maintain a stea
Glaciers also cover quite an amount of land. Right now, glaciers cover 10% of our land. In the United States alone, glaciers cover over 75,000 square kilometers, with most of the glaciers being located in the state of Alaska. During the Ice Age, glaciers covered 32% of the overall land total. Glacierized areas cover over 15,000,000 square kilometers. These are just some of the amazing facts of glaciers. Glaciers have an effect on plants, animals, and people. One of which is the ability to form lakes. Glaciers form lakes in two ways; Glacieral till or deposits of sorted sediments from melt water sometimes piling up in low-lying river channels and other areas. These land areas fill with water, and lakes are formed. Another way glaciers affect plants, animals, and people is by storing water. Glaciers store approximately 75% of the world’s fresh water. A glacier is one of the most powerful agents of erosion. Glacerial ice erodes by abrasion and by plucking away at the rock beneath it. As a glacier moves through a valley, rock materials of all sizes are carried along and pushed in front
Some topics in this essay:
Mount Fairweather,
Polar Regions,
West Antarctic,
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National Park,
Park Preserve,
Southeastern Alaska,
ice sheet,
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animals people,
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Approximate Word count = 746
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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