Athropolis HOME   |   Maps   |   Arctic Links   |   Arctic Library
Click to go HOME
From our library of things you should know about the Arctic


What Makes a Glacier Move?

"Valley" glaciers commonly start from "mountain" glaciers, ice fields or ice sheets. These glaciers leave the mountain ranges and spill down valleys, looking much like giant tongues. They may be very long and often flow down below the snow line - sometimes even reaching sea level or entering into oceans. They then become "tidewater" glaciers and calve icebergs.

Why do they move?

Once a mass of compressed ice reaches a certain thickness, usually around 20 meters / 66 feet thick, it becomes so heavy that it begins to change shape and move. The pressure from the sheer bulk of the ice, combined with the pull of gravity, causes the glacier to flow downhill very slowly - creeping along and bending like an ice river.

Movement along the underside of a glacier is slower than movement at the top due to the friction created as it slides along the ground's surface.

MORE...
Click pictures for more information and credits.
Library: Arctic, Glaciers, Icebergs, Ice
Links: Arctic, Glaciers, Icebergs
Maps: Source of Atlantic Icebergs
Arctic Maps & Weather Reports


Double-click any unlinked word DICTIONARY: Just "double-click" any unlinked word on this page for the definition from Merriam-Webster's Student Electronic Dictionary at Word Central.
Arctic Library ARCTIC LIBRARY & GLOSSARY: Check this section for an index of the rest of the things you really need to know about the Arctic.
All sorts of Arctic Maps ARCTIC MAPS & WEATHER REPORTS: Maps of the Northwest Passage, explorers' routes, iceberg sources, Nunavut, the Arctic by treeline, temperature...
Links to related sites. ARCTIC LINKS: Even more information! Links to sites related to the Arctic and "Iceberg: the Story of the Throps and the Squallhoots".
A Guide to Arctic Sunrise and Sunset GUIDE TO ARCTIC SUNRISE & SUNSET: How much sunlight or darkness is there in the Arctic on each day of the year?

Search for more on this topic...from Athropolis!
(1) Click the button for Web (below) to search the World Wide Web
(2) Click button for
WWW.ATHROPOLIS.COM to search this web site

 
Web WWW.ATHROPOLIS.COM
Icy Cold Jokes | Icy Games | E-mail | Athropolis HOME
Copyright © 2005 Athropolis Productions Limited. The content of web sites that this site has links
to is the property of their respective owners, and Athropolis is not responsible for their content.