Glacier Vocabulary flashcards

English	Photos
zone of ablation	the part of a glacier where melting exceeds snow accumulation
abrasion	the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice
alpine glacier	A glacier confined to a mountain valley, which in most instances had previously been a stream valley.
arete	a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains
basal slip	The process that causes the ice at the base of a glacier to melt and the glacier to slide
calving	process by which a block of a glacier breaks off and falls into the sea to form an iceberg
cirque	a steep-walled semicircular basin in a mountain
col	a pass between mountain peaks
crevasse	A deep crack or fissure in the ice of a glacier.
drumlin	a long mound of till that is smoothed in the direction of the glacier's flow
end moraine	a ridge/mound of till that forms at the terminus (end) of a glacier
esker	a long winding ridge of post glacial gravel and other sediment
fiord	a long narrow inlet of the sea between steep cliffs
firn	partially compacted and refrozen snow which has yet to become a glacier
glacial budget	The balance, or lack of balance, between ice formation at the upper end of a glacier, and ice loss in the zone of wastage.
glacial drift	the rock material carried and deposited by glaciers
glacial erratic	An ice-transported boulder that was not derived from the bedrock near its present site.
glacial striations	scratches and grooves on bedrock caused by glacial abrasion
glacial trough	a deep, U-shaped valley carved by an alpine glacier.
glacier	large, thick body of slowly moving ice
ground moraine	The till deposited from a retreating glacier
hanging valley	small abandoned glacial valley suspended on a mountain above the main glacial valley
horn	glaciers curve away the sides of a mountain the result is this a sharened peak
ice cap	a mass of ice and snow that permanently covers a large area of land (e.g., the polar regions or a mountain peak)
ice sheet	a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² (20,000 mile²).
ice shelf	A large sheet or shelf of ice that extends into an ocean. The shelf is attached to a glacier, or to land
kame	An irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the glacier.
kame terrace	A narrow, terrace-like mass of stratified drift deposited between a glacier and an adjacent valley wall.
kettle lake	a lake that forms when a block of ice falls off of the glacial front, is buried by glacial drift, and then melts, forming a depression that fills with water.
lateral moraine	moraine that forms along the sides of glaciers
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
outlet glacier	tongue of ice normally flowing rapidly outward from an ice cap or ice sheet, usually through mountainous terrain to the sea
outwash plain	area in front of a glacier in which melt water from the glacier has carried & deposited an abundance of sorted material
pater noster lakes	A chain of small lakes in a glacial trough that occupies basins created by glacial erosion.
piedmont glacier	a glacier that forms when one or more alpine glaciers emerge from the confining walls of mountain valleys and spread out to create a broad sheet in the lowlands at the base of the mountains.
plastic flow	A type of glacial movement that occurs within the glacier, below a depth of approximately 50 meters, in which the ice is not fractured.
Pleistocene epoch	from two million to 11 thousand years ago
plucking	the process by which a glacier picks up rocks as it flows over the land
pluvial lake	a lake formed during a period or increased rainfall. During the Pleistocene epoch this occurred in some nonglaciated regions during periods of ice advance elsewhere
recessional moraine	Marks the pauses in the retreat of a glacier
roche moutonnee	known as sheep rocks, this glacier feature is formed when glacial ice advances over outcrops of bedrock. The side facing the glacier may be polished and smooth, but the downward side is left steep and jagged due to glacial plucking action.
rock flour	A fine sediment of pulverized rock produced by glacial erosion
snowline	the line on a mountain above which there is snow throughout the year
stratified drift	a glacier deposit that has been sorted and layered by the action of streams or meltwater
glacial surge	Rapid acceleration of glacial movement
tarn	a small mountain lake, especially one formed by glaciers
terminal moraine	End moraine which marks the furthest advancement of a glacier
glacial till	sediment deposited directly by a glacier
truncated spur	Triangular-shaped cliff produced when a spur of land that extends into a valley is removed by the great erosional force of a valley glacier.
valley (alpine) glacier	a long, narrow glacier that forms when snow and ice build up in a mountain valley
valley train	a relatively narrow body of stratified drift deposited on a valley floor by meltwater that are from a valley glacier
zone of accumulation	the area high on the glacier where added snow is greater than loss due to melting
zone of fracture	Upper top 50 meters of ice where cracking is common (not enough pressure for plastic flow)