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DID YOU KNOW? If all land ice melted, sea levels would rise by around 70 metres globally
Glaciers around
the globe
To spot a glacier you don’t have to travel
northwards to the icy regions of
Antarctica or Greenland. A total of 47
countries are home to glaciers, and some
of these can even be found on the
equator. In warmer regions of the globe,
glaciers can be found at higher altitudes,
allowing snowfall to create the ice
formations. For most, Africa isn’t
associated with visions of icy scenes.
However, if you climb high enough, you
can witness some of this nation’s
glaciers. Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount
Kenya and the Rwenzori Mountains all
have peaks with altitudes that can
sustainthesecrystalisedicesheets.
Whiletheglobaltemperatureincrease
putsglaciersinwarmercountiesmostat
risk,thisisn’ttheonlyfactorcausing
themtoretreat.MountKilimanjaro’s
climate,forexample,is becomingdrieras
wellaswarmer.Thereisn’talways
enoughmoistureintheairtocreate
snowfallata quickenoughratetoreplace
themeltingice.ountKilimanjaro’sglacierhas
treatedoversevenyearsSource: Wikiof the world’s fresh water
is stored in glaciersof the world is
covered in glaciersThe estimated number of glaciers currently found on EarthThe distance some glaciers
can move in a dayNorth America’s longest
glacier is almost twice as
long as the English channelGlacial ice appears blue because the
compressed snowfall filters out most
light wavelengths except blue© Getty
© GettyCirquebasin
Theamphitheatre-shaped
basinis formedatthetop
ofa glacierbyerosion.Accumulationzone
Thiszonecollectssnowfallused
toformglaciers.Moremassis
gainedthanlostin thisarea.Centralflow
Astheglacierflows,snow
andiceis transferredto
thecentralglacierarea.Tributaryglacier
Thissmallerglacierwillfeed
materialintothemainglacier,
helpingtobuilditssize.Pluckingandabrasion
Whenglaciersmelt,sometimes
thewatercanrefreezearoundbits
ofbrokenrock.Abrasionoccurs
whentheserocksscrapethe
glacier,reducingitssize.February 1993
February 2000