What Are Glaciers? Things To Know About The Snowy Surface

What Are Glaciers? Things To Know About The Snowy Surface

WHAT ARE GLACIERS – What are glaciers? Here are some things and stuff you need to know about the icy and snowy surface.

WHAT ARE GLACIERS
Image from: Mental Floss

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, these are thick sheets of ice that are made of fallen snow that are compressed into big and thickened masses of ice.

They form when snow prevails in one location for a long time that it slowly transforms into ice. One of its unique features is its ability to move as they move like very slow rivers.

By the time it was written, the website says that 10% of the earth’s landmass are composed of glaciers, most of which are located in the following:

  • Antarctica
  • Greenland
  • Canadian Arctic

It is said that these are what remains of the Ice Age or pleistoscene. During that time, ice covered 3% of earth’s landmass and 30% of the waters.

Ice Age occurs when colder temperatures prevail for a longer period of time.This allows polar ice to get colder and colder. The previous Ice Age covered some of the following areas:

  • most of Canada
  • New England
  • most of upper Midwestern United States
  • large areas of Alaska
  • most of Greenland
  • Iceland
  • Svalbard and other Arctic islands
  • Scandinavia
  • much of Great Britain and Ireland
  • northwestern Russia

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