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What is a glacier?

Glaciers are made up of fallen snow that, over many years, compresses into large, thickened ice masses. Glaciers form when snow remains in one location long enough to transform into ice. What makes glaciers unique is their ability to move. Due to sheer mass, glaciers flow like very slow rivers. Some glaciers are as small as football fields, while others grow to be over a hundred kilometers long.

Donjek Glacier in the Saint Elias Range, Yukon Territory, Canada. 1985. (Source: Natural Resources Canada. Photograph by Douglas Hodgson. Copyright Terrain Sciences Division, Geological Survey of Canada.)