Rock Glacier by GlacierNPS A tongue-shaped flow of rocks comes down off the side of a mountain in fr
Rock Glacier by GlacierNPS A tongue-shaped flow of rocks comes down off the side of a mountain in front of a pair of alpine lakes. A rock glacier is a glacier-like landform made from an accumulation of angular rocks. Rock glaciers have little or no visible ice at the surface. Ice may fill the spaces between rock blocks. Some rock glaciers move, although very slowly. Perhaps confusingly, some of the park’s ice glaciers are largely covered in rocks but are not rock glaciers. Furthermore, glacier ice itself can technically be classified as a mono-mineralic rock (a rock made of only one mineral, like limestone which is composed of the mineral calcite). The mineral ice is the crystalline form of water (H2O). It forms through the metamorphism of tens of thousands of individual snowflakes into crystals of glacier ice.Using satellite imagery, a 2016 Master’s thesis for Texas State University counted the rock glaciers in Glacier National Park. That research found 13 rock glaciers and 14 more formations that used to be rock glaciers and assigned them simple names based on the surrounding landforms. The rock glaciers in Glacier National Park, as well as rock glaciers everywhere, are an area of ongoing research with much yet to be learned.Learn more on our website: www.nps.gov/glac/learn/nature/glaciersoverview.htm https://flic.kr/p/2jEU9om -- source link
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