| Term | Definition |
|---|
| glacier | a large mass of compacted snow and ice that moves under the force of gravity |
| snow line | the lowest elevation at which the layer of permanent snow occurs in summer |
| valley glacier | a glacier that movew within valley walls |
| continental glacier | a glacier that covers a large part of a continent |
| firn | a rough, granular ice material |
| ice cap | a glacier that is less than 50,000 square kilometers in area |
| crevasses | great fissures or cracks that form across the width of the glacier |
| ice front | the end of the glacier |
| calving | when glaciers break off to become icebergs |
| till | rock material deposited by a glacier |
| moraine | accumulation of glacial till |
| striations | long parallel scratches formed form large boulders |
| glacial valley | u shaped valley formed when glaciers smoothes walls of valley |
| cirque | steep sided, half bowl shaped recess at the head of the glacier |
| outwash | materials deposited by glacial meltwater (sorted and stratified) |
| erratics | large boulders transported by glaciers |
| drumlins | long, smooth canoe-shaped hills that point in the direction of glacial movement |
| outwash plains | a broad, stratified, gently sloping deposit of sediment formed beyond the terminal moraine by streams from a melting glacier |
| eskers | a long, winding ridge formed when sand and gravel fill meltwater tunnels beneath a glacier |
| kames | small, cone-shaped hills of stratified sand and gravel |
| kettles | bowl-shaped hollows found in moraines |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace