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glacierclick to hear

Mass of ice resulting from the accumulation and compression of snow; it moves under its own weight.
glacier terminal moraine rock basin glacier tongue riegel crevasse ground moraine end moraine outwash plain meltwater lateral moraine serac hanging glacier medial moraine glacial cirque firn bergschrund

terminal moraine click to hear

Frontal moraine marking the glacier’s most advanced position before it recedes.

rock basin click to hear

Basin dug out of soft rock by a glacier.

glacier tongue click to hear

River of ice formed by the flow of the firn.

riegel click to hear

A rocky ridge set crosswise to the glacier tongue.

crevasse click to hear

Deep narrow fissure that forms on the surface of the glacier.

ground moraine click to hear

Deposit of rock debris (till) that is dragged along and deposited under the advancing glacier.

end moraine click to hear

Deposit of rock debris scraped from the ground and pushed to the front of the glacier.

outwash plain click to hear

Relatively even, gently sloping tract of land, formed by the action of a glacier’s meltwater.

meltwater click to hear

Water that runs beneath the glacier tongue, forming rivers and occasionally lakes at the foot of a glacier.

lateral moraine click to hear

Deposit of rock debris scraped from the sides of raised land by ice.

serac click to hear

Chaotic mass of unstable ice bordered by crevasses.

hanging glacier click to hear

Glacier with no tongue that remains in its cirque.

medial moraine click to hear

Forms where the lateral moraines of two parallel glacier tongues come together.

glacial cirque click to hear

Semicircular cavity with steep sides, carved out by ice.

firn click to hear

Accumulation of snow inside a cirque; compressed by its own weight, it is converted into ice and feeds the glacier.

bergschrund click to hear

Crevasse between the firn and the rock face; it appears when the glacier breaks away from the rock face.