In simple words, glaciers are rivers made up of ice blocks and snow that move over the land. However, the movement of these glaciers depends on various external and internal factors that should be considered while studying the route of the glacier. Currently there are many world famous glaciers in the Himalayas and Alps that do look beautiful from a distance, but they can be very dangerous if you are at the wrong place at the wrong time. Normally, glaciers form in areas where snow has been accumulated for years and therefore, the ice begins to slide down and moves freely on the land like a river.
When there is too much of snow the ice layer above the ground becomes thick and one point in time the pressure of the snow on the ground is too much and because of the slope the ice below begins to move which results into glaciers.
Glaciers are further divided into many categories like alpine glaciers, ice sheet glaciers and tidewater glaciers. These glaciers are divided on the basis of their anatomy and the conditions under which they are evolved. Glaciers normally move down the hill because of the slope factor. However, basal sliding is also very common and can be seen when the ice is melting. The speed of glacier totally depends on the lower part of the ice because the lower part of the glacier is constantly in touch with the ground and therefore, it creates friction that determines the speed of the glaciers. If the friction is too much, then the speed of the glacier will be comparatively slow, or else it can take a good speed to cover long distances.
Alpine glaciers are also known as cirque glaciers, and they are normally formed on mountain slopes. In many countries alpine glaciers are also known as mountain glaciers. If the alpine glaciers are formed in a valley then they are termed as valley glaciers. These glaciers are very huge, and they can cover an entire mountain depending on the amount of snow it has. These glaciers can bring down huge mass of ice and snow over a period of time and can be very dangerous as well.
However, nothing is as huge as ice sheet glaciers. These glaciers are probably the largest glaciers present on the globe and therefore, they can have a huge impact on the global weather if they begin to melt. Ice sheet glaciers normally float in the water, but they can break into smaller pieces depending on the change in temperature and other external factors. Tidewater glaciers are those glaciers that end up in the sea. The ice from the glacier gets mixed with the sea water and forms smaller icebergs that float on the sea. The Hubbard Glacier in Alaska is considered to be the longest tidewater glacier in the world as it spreads almost 10 kilometers and covers hundreds of feet of water forming ice caps and ice fields.
