We have seen, appreciated man made sculptors, now let us remind and appreciate nature’s master sculptors… Glacier
Glaciers are nature’s master sculptors and one of the most fascinating natural wonders on earth?
A glacier is a large mass ice that acts like a thick river, slowly flowing downhill under the influence of gravity. It is formed in places where more snow falls in winter than can melt in summer. Over time, the accumulated snow compresses, turns to ice and begins to flow outwards and downwards under the pressure of its own weight.
Presently, ten per cent of land area is covered with glaciers. Glaciers are found at high altitude on every continent. However, ninety-nine per cent of our planet’s glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the Polar Regions. The world’s largest glacier is the Lambert Glacier in Antarctica. It is about 100km wide, over 400 km long and about 2.5 km deep!
Glaciers are among the most erosive forces of nature. They destroy everything that comes on their way, including the land below! This way glacier also becomes one of nature’s constructive forces – capable of creating valleys and carving out mountains! As glaciers move, or slide downhill they scour rocks, transport and deposit debris far from their source, and through both erosion and deposition, glaciers create landscapes of outstanding natural beauty. These perennial mass of ice work years-round, slowly etching away at the landscape like patient master sculptors, and over long periods of time, reveal their masterpiece. Some of their finest creation can be viewed at the Glacier National Park in Montana, USA. The park is dominated by towering cliffs, jagged ridges, deep valleys and mountains which were carved into their present shapes by the huge glaciers of the last ice age.
Besides sculpting beautiful landforms, glaciers themselves constitute striking features of the terrain. Gigantic glaciers stretching to the horizon create the awe-inspiring, sweeping landscapes of the Polar Regions.
The largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar caps is found in the Himalayas. These glaciers feed seven of Asia’s great river and provide freshwater to one-third of the world’s population.
Happy reading.
I wish I would have born here......
