Formation of a Glacier

1. Precipitation (snow)

2. Fresh snow and ice starts to compact at the top of the glacier. Avalanches also occur at the top of the mountain.

3. Store – of ice

4. Flow – glacier moves downhill

5. Output – in the form of evaporated water or as melt water which runs off to flow into rivers / lakes etc…

Definitions:

• Moraine – material such as rocks and boulders that are transported by the glacier in the ice.
• Erratics – rocks and boulders transported by the glacier and deposited in an area of different rock. They can, therefore, easily be seen to be different from the rocks around them.