Glaciers | Types of Glaciers

Glaciers:

These are made of ice which moves on ground surface.

Or

The slowly moving mass of ice formed by the accumulation of snow on mountains or near the poles.

Types

1.     Valley.

2.     Piedmont.

3.     Ice layers.

 Valley

Those type which are found at high mountains are known as valley glaciers.

Piedmont

At the end of hills small pieces of ice combine to form Piedmont glaciers.

Piedmont glaciers occur when steep valley glaciers flow onto relatively flat plains. They spread out into fan or bulb shapes (lobes). The Malaspina Glacier in Alaska is one of the most famous examples of this type of glacier. It is 40 miles wide. It is the largest piedmont glacier in the world. Its origins are in the Seward Ice Field. Once it spills over the mountains it then covers over 5,000 square kilometres of the coastal plain.

Ice sheets:

Sheets of ice cover hilly areas.

Reference : Piedmont glaciers