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Glaciated Landscapes

Types of ice mass and their distribution

  • 2 things to know
  • Component 1 Section A

Overview

Cirque glacier, valley glacier and highland icefield.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Define a cirque glacier.

Key term

Describe a valley glacier.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define a cirque glacier.

    Model answer

    A cirque glacier is a small mass of ice occupying an armchair-shaped hollow on a mountainside. The glacier is the smallest type and often feeds a valley glacier below.

  2. 2

    Describe a valley glacier.

    Model answer

    A valley glacier is a tongue of ice confined between the walls of a pre-existing river valley. Ice from a cirque or an icefield feeds it from above.

  3. 3

    Name a large valley glacier in Europe and give its size.

    Model answer

    The Aletsch Glacier in Switzerland is about 23 km long and is the largest in the Alps. The ice reaches roughly 900 m thick at its deepest point.

  4. 4

    What is a highland icefield?

    Model answer

    A highland icefield is a continuous sheet of ice covering an upland area, with peaks projecting through it. Outlet glaciers flow away from it down the surrounding valleys.

  5. 5

    Give an example of a highland icefield.

    Model answer

    Jostedalsbreen in Norway covers about 474 km² and is the largest icefield in mainland Europe. Around fifty outlet glaciers descend from it.

  6. 6

    Define a piedmont glacier.

    Model answer

    A piedmont glacier forms where a valley glacier spills out onto a lowland plain and spreads into a lobe. The ice is no longer confined by valley walls.

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