Parts of a Glacier
Imagine a river that flows into the ocean. At that point, the river loses water to the ocean. Throughout its journey, the river also loses some water to evaporation. The river is replenished by precipitation and runoff. Likewise, glaciers lose some ice to melting as they enter low-elevation warmer environments, approach the sea, or as local climate becomes warmer.
Why do glaciers not disappear as they flow?
Because they are replenished by snowfall. As long as snowfall exceeds ablation, the glacier remains intact.
Just like a river, a glacier is also a collection of parts that work together. In the case of a glacial system, the parts work together to move ice over the land. Roll over each term on the diagram to learn about the parts of a glacial system.
