What are Glaciers made of?

Glaciers are made of mostly ice and snow. In areas where there are year-round snowfall, snow in a certain area on land will accumulate. The snow will accumulate to such a degree that the weight and the pressure of the snow will push the
underlying snow together releasing all the excess air bubbles trapped within the snow. As time passes, the mass of snow will turn into ice. A Glacier has now formed.

Glaciers are made up of layers of snow in the following order:

* New Snow: the newest layer of snow to have fallen on the glacier

* Old Snow: a layer of snow that is underneath the new layers of snow

* Firn: Special State of water from the layers of snow above

* Glacial Ice: The snow at the bottom that has turned to ice.

The photo is a cut away shot of a glacier.

 


 

What Are Glaciers? | How are they formed? | What are they Made of? | Where can they be found? | Erosion | The Ice Age | Famous Glaciers | Features | Glaciers and People | Interesting Facts