Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Glacier |
GlacierNoun1. A slowly moving mass of ice. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "glacier" was first used: 1744. (references) |
Etymology: Glacier \Gla"cier\, noun. [French expression glacier, from glace ice, from Latin expression glacies.]. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Geography | A mass of snow and ice continuously moving from higher to lower ground or, if afloat, continuously spreading. The principal forms of glacier are: inland ice sheets, ice shelves, ice streams, ice caps, ice piedmonts, cirque glaciers and various types of mountain ( valley ) glaciers. Source: European Union. (references) |
Geological | A long-lived sheet or mass of ice made of recrystallized snow. Glaciers move downhill due to the stress of their own weight. (references) |
Hydrologic | A huge mass of ice, formed on land by the compaction and recrystallization of snow, that moves very slowly downslope or outward due to its own weight. (references) |
| Bodies of land ice that consist of recrystallized snow accumulated on the surface of the ground, and that move slowly downslope. (references) | |
Mining | A large mass of ice formed, at least in part, on land by the compaction and recrystallization of snow, moving slowly by creep downslope or outward in all directions due to the stress of its own weight, and surviving from year to year. Included are small mountain glaciers as well as ice sheets continental in size, and ice shelves that float on the ocean but are fedin part by ice formed on land. (references) |
Public Administration | A vast mass of perpetual ice on land produced by the long-term compaction and crystallization of snow, with evidence of very slow movement throughout its history; a major cause of avalanches. Source: European Union. (references) |
Science | A multi-year surplus accumulation of snowfall in excess of snowmelt on land and resulting in a mass of ice at least 0.1 km2 in area that shows some evidence of movement in response to gravity. A glacier may terminate on land or in water. Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to the oceans as the largest reservoir of total water. Glaciers are found on every continent except Australia. (references) |
Weather | A mass of land ice that is formed by the cumulative recrystallization of firn. A glacier flows slowly (at present or in the past) from an accumulation area to an ablation area. Some well-known glaciers are: the Zermatt, Stechelberg, Grindelwald, Trient, Les Diablerets, and Rhone in Switzerland; the Nigards, Gaupne, Fanarak, Lom, and Bover in Norway; the Wright, Taylor, and Wilson Piedmont glaciers in Antarctica; the Bossons Glacier in France; the Emmons and Nisqually glaciers on Mt. Ranier, Washington; Grinnell glacier in Glacier National Park, Montana; the Dinwoody glacier in the Wind River Mountains and the Teton glacier in Teton National Park, both in Wyoming; and many glaciers in the Canadian Rockies. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
A glacier is a large, long-lasting flow of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. The glacier fringe is the area where the glacier has recently melted. There are two main types of glaciers: alpine glaciers, which are found in mountain terrains, and continental glaciers, which are associated with ice ages and can cover large areas of continents. Glacier ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, and second only to the oceans as the largest reservoir of total water. Glaciers are found on every continent except Australia. This article will concentrate on Alpine glaciers, but most of the concepts also apply to continental glaciers except the scale is quite different.
Austria's longest glacier, the Pasterze, winds its 8 km (5 mile) route at the foot of Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner.
Larger versionA number of geologic features are associated with glaciers, including moraines that form from glacially transported rocks and debris at the terminus of the glacier; distinctive U-shaped valleyss ; and cirques (cwms) at their heads.
The upper part of a glacier that receives most of the snowfall is called the zone of accumulation. The snowfall here is sufficiently heavy to exert a downward force and cause deep erosion of rock in this area, often leaving a bowl or amphitheater-shaped depression called a cirque. On the opposite end of the glacier, at its foot or terminal end, is the zone of deposition (also called the zone of wastage or the zone of ablation) where upward and lateral forces predominate and deposition of sediment occurs. Between these two zones is the line of equilibrium where the downward erosive forces of the zone of accumulation and the upward deposition forces of the zone of deposition cancel. Erosive lateral forces are not canceled; therefore, glaciers turn v-shaped river-carved valleys into u-shaped glacial valleys.
Glacial moraines are formed from the deposition of material from a glacier and are exposed after the glacier has retreated. These features usually appear as linear mounds of till, which is a poorly-sorted mixture of rock, gravel and boulders that are within a matrix of a fine powdery material. Terminal or end moraines are formed at the foot or terminal end of a glacier, lateral moraines are formed on the sides of the glacier, and medial moraines are formed down the center. Less obvious is the ground moraine which often blankets the surface underneath much of the glacier downslope from the line of equilibrium. Other features formed by glacial deposition include distinctive streamlined hills known as drumlins, and long snake-like ridges formed by streambeds under glaciers, known as eskers. Glacial meltwaters contain rock flour, an extremely fine powder ground from the underlying rock by the glacier's movement.
The Upper Grindelwald Glacier and the Schreckhorn, at Grindelwald, Switzerland.
Larger versionSo-called "stoss and lee erosional features" are formed by glaciers and show the direction of its movement. Long linear features that follow the direction of movement are called glacial striations and divots in the rock are called chatter marks. These two features are both left on the surfaces of stationary rock that were once under a glacier and were formed when loose rocks and boulders in the ice were transported over the rock surface. Transport of fine-grained material within a glacier can smooth or polish the surface of rocks, leading to what geologists call glacial polish. Glacial erratics are rounded boulders that were left by a melting glacier and are often seen perched precariously on exposed rock faces after glacial retreat.
Some glaciers are quite small, while others may be tens of kilometers in length. Today, they are found on very high mountains in equatorial and mid-latitude regions and progressively lower as one approaches the poles. Greenland and Antarctica are heavily glaciated, to the point of being almost entirely covered by ice. Glaciation of this extent is called continental glaciation.
The downstream end of continental glaciers often flows into the sea. As the ice reaches the ocean, it breaks off, forming icebergs. Glaciers are really rivers of ice that move slowly downhill. Even in very cold climates, there may be unglaciated areas, which receive too little precipitation to form permanent ice.
The snow from which glaciers form is subject to repeated freezing and thawing, permitting the formation of a form of granular ice called nevé. Under the pressure of the layers of ice and snow above it, this granular ice fuses into solid glacial ice. Glacial ice contains minute air bubbles as a result, giving it a distinctive blue tint due to Rayleigh scattering. The lower layers of glacial ice flow and deform plastically under this pressure, allowing the glacier as a whole to move slowly like a viscous fluid. Glaciers do not need a slope to flow, being driven by the continuing accumulation of new snow at their source. The upper layers of glaciers are more brittle, and often form deep cracks known as crevasses as they flex. These crevasses make travel over glaciers a risky proposition. Glacial meltwaters flow throughout and underneath glaciers, carving channels in the ice similar to caves in rock and also helping to lubricate the glacier's movement.
During ice ages, continental glaciers may be as much as 1500 meters thick. A more extreme instance of glacial growth may have occurred during the Snowball Earth period. In the past several centuries the Earth's glaciers have generally been retreating, often dramatically.
See also: West Antarctica
External links
- 2003-08-15 Scientists Rewrite Laws Of Glacial Erosion
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Glacier."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Glacier National Park is a National Park in Montana. It was established on May 11, 1910 by an act of the United States Congress. It contains over 1 million acres (4000 km²) of forest, mountains and lakes. It borders Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada and the two were designated an international peace park in 1932. They were both designated Biosphere Reserves in 1976 and World Heritage sites in 1995.The park contains numerous mountains, waterfalls, large and small lakes and a few small and rapidly melting glaciers. Triple Divide Peak is a mountain on the divide between the Pacific Ocean, Hudson Bay and Gulf of Mexico watersheds. Lake McDonald, Two Medicine Lake, St. Mary Lake and Lake Sherburne are large lakes while small tarns are located in cirques throughout the mountains. The north fork of the Flathead River forms the western boundary of the park.
There are about 50 small glaciers in the park. They range in size from the 1.74 km² Blackfoot Glacier to the 0.06 km² Gem Glacier. In total 27 km² of glaciers exist in the park in 2003. Other well-known glaciers include Grinnell Glacier, the Salamander and Jackson Glacier. There were 150 glaciers in the area of the future park in 1850. The larger glaciers are only 1/3 of their 1850 size and it is estimated that all the park's glaciers will have melted by 2030.
The Great Northern Railway completed a railroad through the area south of the park in 1891. In 1900 the park was designated a forest preserve; although, mining was still allowed, it was not commercially successful. In the 1910s, to promote tourism the railway built a series of hotels and backcountry houses on a Swiss chalet theme throughout the area. Vacationers could take horse trails between lodgings. Many of these are still in use today. The Great Northern Railway in developing its "American Alps" was following the example of the Northern Pacific Railroad in Yellowstone and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad at Grand Canyon.
Several large lakes have small wooden tour boats, some dating back to the 1920s. Going-to-the-Sun Road, completed in 1932, is the only road that crosses the park, going over the Continental Divide at Logan Pass. A fleet of 1930s red tour buses, rebuilt in 2001 to run on propane, offer tours on the road.
The park contains 700 miles (1100 km) of hiking trails as well as horse trails, but very limited bicycling.
The park is prime grizzly and black bear habitat and contains other large mammals such as mountain goats, mountain sheep, moose and elk.
Glacier is part of a large preserved ecosystem. Glacier Park borders the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Flathead National Forest, Great Bear Wilderness, Lewis and Clark National Forest in the United States and Waterton Lakes National Park, Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park and the Flathead Provincial Forest in Canada.
Wildfires in 2003 on the west side of the continental divide burned 10% of the park. There were also extensive fires in the surrounding forests.
There is also a national park in Canada by the same name.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Glacier National Park."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Glacier is a town located in Whatcom County, Washington. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 90.Geography
Glacier is located at 48°53'18" North, 121°56'2" West (48.888296, -121.933857)1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.8 km² (3.0 mi²). 7.8 km² (3.0 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 90 people, 47 households, and 21 families residing in the town. The population density is 11.5/km² (29.9/mi²). There are 228 housing units at an average density of 29.2/km² (75.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 98.89% White, 0.00% African American, 0.00% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.00% from other races, and 1.11% from two or more races. 1.11% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 47 households out of which 17.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.3% are married couples living together, 4.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 55.3% are non-families. 46.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 1.91 and the average family size is 2.76. In the town the population is spread out with 18.9% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 32.2% from 25 to 44, 31.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 43 years. For every 100 females there are 109.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 102.8 males. The median income for a household in the town is $10,875, and the median income for a family is $7,212. Males have a median income of $10,000 versus $0 for females. The per capita income for the town is $6,089. 34.2% of the population and 56.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 0.0% are under the age of 18 and 0.0% are 65 or older.Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Glacier, Washington."
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Cold | Ice; snow, snowflake, snow crystal, snow drift; sleet; hail, hailstone; rime, frost; hoar frost, white frost, hard frost, sharp frost; barf; glaze, lolly; icicle, thick-ribbed ice; fall of snow, heavy fall; iceberg, icefloe; floe berg; glacier; nev_e, serac; pruina. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | It rises 1600 feet--a world of dangerous, fragile beauty; a cascade of massive blocks of ice moving imperceptibly from the glacier above, pushed by the weight of centuries of the snows of Everest (The Man Who Skied Down Everest; writing credit: Kyle Onstott; Jack Kirkland) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Magic Carpet: Glacier Trails (1941) Teddy in Glacier Land (1922) Glacier Park (1919) Baywatch: White Thunder at Glacier Bay (1998) Le Dernier glacier (1984) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Hubbard Glacier, AK. Credit: NASA. |  | The Lambert Glacier in Antarctica is the world's largest glacier. The focal point of this image is an icefall that feeds into the glacier from the vast ice sheet covering the polar plateau. Ice flows like water, albeit much more slowly. Cracks can be seen in this icefall as it bends and twists on its slow-motion descent 1300 feet (400 meters) to the glacier below. Credit: NASA. |
 | Traverse party at foot of ice cliffs on Crillon Glacier Party off of SURVEYOR. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Glacier Bay topographic mapping Cartoon by Clarence Petersen recalls real incident Off of WESTDAHL. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Taku Glacier after fall snows. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Mendenhall Glacier. Credit: America's Coastlines. |
 | Unidentified glacier in Southeast Alaska. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Mendenhall Glacier. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Whaler off of NOAA Ship JOHN N. COBB with Sawyer Glacier in the background. Credit: Fisheries. |  | RA-3 near Sawyer Glacier. Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Glacier" by Umayr Sahlan Masud Commentary: "This is a glacier cut down off the road to make way to reach saifulmalook.. trust me its quite scary :)." | "Glacier walk" by L L Commentary: "Descending the Gorner Glacier, Switzerland." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | An unworthy thought can no more spring up in it than a nettle upon a glacier. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | Iceland | Highest elevation: Vatnajokull Glacier, at 2,119 meters (6,952 ft.). (references) |
India | The air force takes pride in its ability to fly low and fast, as well as to operate in the extremes of temperature and altitude ranging from the Thar Desert to the Siachen Glacier. (references) | |
Pakistan | The primary short-term reasons for the current acute irrigation shortage are two consecutive weak monsoons and inadequate glacier and snow melt due to below normal snowfall and cooler than normal temperatures. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Glacier" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 97.21% of the time. "Glacier" is used about 215 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 97.21% | 209 | 21,011 |
| Noun (proper) | 2.79% | 6 | 143,867 |
| Total | 100.00% | 215 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| Country | Name |
| USA | Glacier Bancorp, Inc. |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
1. Glacier, WA |
Expressions using "glacier": alpine glacier ♦ alpine type of glacier ♦ Continental glacier ♦ East Glacier Par ♦ East Glacier Park Village ♦ glacier berg ♦ glacier burst ♦ Glacier County ♦ glacier crowfoot ♦ glacier fall ♦ glacier flood ♦ glacier iceberg ♦ glacier lily ♦ glacier stream ♦ Glacier theory ♦ great Mendenhall Glacier ♦ Mendenhall Glacier ♦ Piedmont glacier ♦ Piedmont type of glacier ♦ polar glacier. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "glacier": glacier-derived, glacier-dominated, glacier-fed, glacier-filled, glacier-like. | |
Ending with "glacier": down-glacier. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
glacier national park | 8,453 | girl glacier | 51 |
glacier | 3,391 | portage glacier | 48 |
glacier park | 2,693 | glacier picture | 45 |
glacier bay | 547 | glacier national park map | 42 |
glacier mt natl park | 136 | glacier glasses | 42 |
glacier national park montana | 82 | franz josef glacier | 41 |
glacier national park hotel | 77 | glacier bay alaska | 40 |
glacier bay boat | 72 | find glacier national park | 39 |
west glacier mt | 70 | glacier express | 37 |
glacier park lodge | 69 | glacier point | 33 |
mendenhall glacier | 68 | glacier national | 33 |
glacier park montana | 65 | glacier montana | 33 |
glacier national park lodging | 59 | glacier lodge | 30 |
hubbard glacier | 58 | glacier national park picture | 28 |
glacier bay national park | 58 | anchorage glacier pilot | 26 |
glacier bay faucet | 57 | west glacier | 26 |
bank glacier | 56 | portage glacier ak | 25 |
alaska glacier | 56 | glacier peak | 25 |
east glacier park mt | 56 | glacier sawyer | 25 |
many glacier hotel | 53 | many glacier | 24 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "glacier"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | akullnajë. (various references) | |
Arabic | نهر الجليد, المجلدة. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | глетчер, ледник. (various references) | |
Chinese | 冰川 . (various references) | |
Czech | ledovec (iceberg). (various references) | |
Danish | gletscher. (various references) | |
Dutch | gletsjer. (various references) | |
Esperanto | glaciejo. (various references) | |
Farsi | یخچال طبیعی , یخ رود, توده یخ غلتان (Iceberg), رودخانه یخ , برف رود. (various references) | |
Finnish | jäätikkö (ice field, sheet of ice). (various references) | |
French | glacier. (various references) | |
German | gletscher (glacer, glacers, glaciers, iceberg). (various references) | |
Greek | παγετώνας. (various references) | |
Hebrew | שניר, קרחון (iceberg). (various references) | |
Hungarian | gleccser. (various references) | |
Indonesian | gletser, sungai es. (various references) | |
Italian | ghiacciaio (gacier). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 氷河 . (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ひょうが. (various references) | |
Korean | 빙. (various references) | |
Manx | rio-stroo, awin rioee. (various references) | |
Norwegian | isbre, bre. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | acierglay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | geleira, glaciar. (various references) | |
Romanian | gheţar (fridge, ice box, iceberg, refrigerator). (various references) | |
Russian | глетчер, ледник (ice-box, icehouse). (various references) | |
Sepedi | moelakgapetla. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | glečer. (various references) | |
Spanish | glaciar. (various references) | |
Swedish | glaciär, jökel. (various references) | |
Thai | ธารน้ำแข็ง. (various references) | |
Turkish | buzul (glacial, growler, ice field). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | льодовик. (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Old French | 900-1400 | glace. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "glacier": glaciers. (additional references) | |
| |
"Glacier" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: galacier, galcier, galibier, Gallacio, glacee, glacer, glacia, glacian, glaciel, glacien, glacior, glacy, gladier, glaicer, glancier, Glasier, Glaucia, glaxie, gllacier. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: gracile. | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-g-i-l-r" | |
-1 letter: cagier, eclair, garlic, glaire, lacier. | |
-2 letters: agile, areic, argil, argle, ariel, cager, carle, ceria, cigar, clear, erica, glace, glair, glare, grace, grail, ileac, lacer, lager, large, liger, regal, relic. | |
-3 letters: acre, ager, alec, aril, cage, care, carl, ceil, cire, clag, crag, earl, egal, gale, gear, girl, glia, ilea, lace, laic, lair, lari, lear. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-g-i-l-r" | |
+1 letter: allergic, clearing, glaciers, graciles, relacing. | |
+2 letters: algebraic, bricolage, cartilage, cellaring, clavering, clearings, clearwing, curtilage, declaring, garlicked, graticule, lackering, lethargic, neuralgic, parceling, recalling, recoaling, regicidal, replacing, rescaling, sacrilege, viceregal. | |
+3 letters: allergenic, becrawling, bricolages, calipering, cartilages, clabbering, clambering, clattering, clearwings, corelating, curtilages, germicidal, graticules, lacerating, lacquering, marcelling, paraplegic, parcelling, prelogical, preplacing, reclaiming, reclasping, recleaning, relocating, retackling, sacrileges, scragglier, theurgical, ulcerating. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Usage Frequency 11. Names: Company Usage 12. Cities | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Anagrams 19. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
