Glaciers and Ice Ages
Glaciers are slow-moving rivers of ice that carve valleys, and ice ages are long periods when huge ice sheets cover the land.
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Glaciers are slow-moving rivers of ice that carve valleys, and ice ages are long periods when huge ice sheets cover the land.
- Glaciers erode by plucking and abrasion
- U-shaped valleys and corries form
- Moraine is material deposited by ice
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Glaciers and Ice Ages?
Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains Glaciers and Ice Ages. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.
Check that you can explain Glaciers and Ice Ages in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Glaciers and Ice Ages helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.
Glaciers and Ice Ages in detail
A glacier is a large mass of ice that moves slowly downhill under gravity. Ice ages are periods of colder climate when ice sheets cover large areas, and the most recent ended about 10,000 years ago. Glaciers erode by plucking (freezing to rock and pulling off pieces) and abrasion (grinding with trapped rocks).
Features of glacial erosion include corries (armchair hollows), arêtes (sharp ridges), pyramidal peaks, U-shaped valleys, hanging valleys and ribbon lakes. Deposition creates moraines, drumlins and erratics. Glaciers are valuable water stores, and today they are shrinking due to climate change. Tourism and hydropower are used in glaciated areas.
How the interactive helps you understand Glaciers and Ice Ages
Click a step, or use the Previous and Next buttons, to move through the sequence one stage at a time. Auto-play moves on for you.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Glaciers and Ice Ages.
Real-life uses and examples
- Explain how Glaciers and Ice Ages affects people, jobs and land use in a region.
- Support an answer about Glaciers and Ice Ages with a named case study and specific evidence.
- Interpret a graph or map that shows Glaciers and Ice Ages and say what it suggests.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain Glaciers and Ice Ages.
- Writing general statements without a named place or example.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Glaciers and Ice Ages
What is Glaciers and Ice Ages?
Glaciers are slow-moving rivers of ice that carve valleys, and ice ages are long periods when huge ice sheets cover the land.
What are the most important points about Glaciers and Ice Ages?
The main points are: Glaciers erode by plucking and abrasion; U-shaped valleys and corries form; Moraine is material deposited by ice.
Why is Glaciers and Ice Ages useful?
Understanding Glaciers and Ice Ages helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.
How can I practise Glaciers and Ice Ages?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Glaciers and Ice Ages?
Related topics in Geography include Measuring Weather, Types of Rainfall, Tropical Storms.