Glaciers

This scene takes the form of a large model glacier in a mountainous landscape. The higher part of the glacier is in an area of steep-sided mountains and at the lowest part, the glacier begins to melt, leaving a pile of rock of different sizes, with a meltwater stream flowing off down the mountain. Mountain glaciers are huge bodies of ice high in mountain areas. They build up as snow falls each winter, and as the glacier slowly moves down the mountain it carries rocks frozen within it, causing erosion in the landscape. As the glacier’s terminus reaches lower altitudes it begins to melt, dropping any transported rocks in a process known as deposition.

# Learning objectives

1: To understand where glaciers are found.{.info}

2: To identify what a mountain glacier looks like.{.info}

3: To explain what happens when glaciers melt.{.info}

# Where Glaciers Are Found{.objective .objective1}

In this section students can learn that Mountain glaciers (sometimes known as alpine glaciers) are found in high mountain environments all around the world. In this activity students are asked to enter the scene to explore the environment and question what the environment would look like if the glacier wasn’t there.

# The Mountain Glacier{.objective .objective2}

In this section a glacier can be understood to be a huge ‘river’ of ice in a mountain. When layer after layer of snow falls in one location, it begins to compact from light snowflakes into more solid ice pellets. The huge body of ice then very slowly slides down the mountain slope. In this activity students are asked to enter the scene to investigate if a glacier can move and change a landscape.

# When Glaciers Melt{.objective .objective3}

In this section at the base of the glacier, we expect to see some melting of the ice into liquid water in the summer months. When this takes place, any transported rocks trapped within the ice are dropped to the ground as the ice melts and flows away. In this section students are asked to enter the scene to find out about the consequences of glaciers melting.

# Teacher Resources

### Download Teacher Notes

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/792334/files/Glaciers%20Teacher+Notes+1.pdf?date=1676363946&size=818848&md5=228542eb7cf0fa939311b3975f6f966a)


### Student Quiz Answers Document

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/792336/files/Glaciers%20Teacher+Notes+2.pdf?date=1676364055&size=449310&md5=b1f671f500eca90f83973f4fa6d3cf99)

### Download Student Quiz Document

[](https://data.avncloud.com/activities/792337/files/Glaciers%20Teacher+Notes+3.pdf?date=1676364140&size=67668&md5=f038dd49287650a6fd232c5953e82701)