Glacier power

Discover the awesome Earth-shaping power of gigantic rivers of ice

Glaciers are huge rivers or sheets of ice, which have sculpted mountain ranges and carved iconic peaks like the pyramid-shaped Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps. The secret of this awesome landscape-shaping power is erosion, the process of wearing away and transporting solid rock. Glacial erosion involves two main mechanisms: abrasion and plucking. As glaciers flow downhill, they use debris that’s frozen into the ice to ‘sandpaper’ exposed rock, leaving grooves called ‘striations’. This is the process of abrasion. Plucking, however, is where glaciers freeze onto rock and tear away loose fragments as they pull away. Today glaciers are confined to high altitudes and latitudes, but during the ice ages glaciers advanced into valleys that are now free of ice. Britain, for example, was covered by ice as far south as the…

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How It Works Book of Incredible Earth (Digital) - 1 Issue, How It Works Book Of Incredible Earth 6th Edition

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