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1.6 Glaciers

Snow and ice falls on the interior of the Antarctic continent. The weight of the ice slowly pushes it down hill. This moving ice is called a glacier.

Colbeck trip pre-dawn light
Soft pastel colours of the predawn light on the side of a Forbes Glacier
Photo: Geoff Bell
Glaciers slowly flow downhill towards the coast. It can take thousands of years for ice from the interior of the Antarctic continent to reach the coast. The largest Antarctic glacier is the Lambert Glacier, 40 km wide and 400 km long. It is also the largest glacier in the world.

  • Glaciers are rivers of ice. Have students investigate how they move and the distinctive features they form. They should include features like crevasses, ice shelves, icebergs and moraines. They can also answer the question: why are glaciers blue?

Everything you want to know about glaciers is on the National Snow and Ice Data Centre website All About Glaciers.

Watch the flow of a glacier in the animated diagram [requires Quicktime] at NASA's website.