Ice field
An ice field (also spelled icefield) is a mass of interconnected valley
Formation
Ice fields are formed by a large accumulation of snow which, through years of compression and freezing, turns into ice. Due to ice's susceptibility to gravity, ice fields usually form over large areas that are basins or atop plateaus, thus allowing a continuum of ice to form over the landscape uninterrupted by glacial channels. Glaciers often form on the edges of ice fields, serving as gravity-propelled drains off the ice field which is in turn replenished by snowfall.
While an ice cap is not constrained by topography, an ice field is. An ice field is also distinguishable from an ice cap because it does not have a dome-like form.[2]
Ice fields of the world
Asia
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There are several ice fields in the
Oceania
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There are no ice fields in Australia.
New Zealand has
Reference:[5]
Europe
The only large ice fields in mainland Europe are in
Beyond the mainland of continental Europe, there are substantial ice fields in
North America
One of the more celebrated North American ice fields is the
Many particularly expansive ice fields lie in the
There are also large ice fields located in the Kenai Peninsula-Chugach Mountains area, such as the Sargent Icefield and the Harding Icefield. Throughout the Alaska Range there also large icefields (including one surrounding Denali) which are mostly unnamed.
South America
In South America there are three main ice fields.
The main ice field, known as Campo de Hielo Sur (
See also
Sources
- )
- ^ Summerfield (1999).[full citation needed]
- ^ Map of the gardens
- ^ Google map reference
- ^ USGS SATELLITE IMAGE ATLAS OF GLACIERS OF THE WORLD, GLACIERS OF IRIAN JAYA, INDONESIA, AND NEW ZEALAND,GLACIERS OF NEW ZEALAND By TREVOR J.H. CHINN
- ^ "Kluane / Wrangell-St. Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek". UNESCO. Archived from the original on 2017-02-24.