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Glacier Deposits What is a glacier? A glacier is a moving mass of ice that survives year to year, formed by the compacting of snow, and then into granular ice and set in motion outward and downward by the force of gravity and the stress of its accumulated mass. Glaciers are usually found in high altitudes and latitudes. The classifications- Glaciers are of four chief types. Valley, or mountain, glaciers are tongues of moving ice …

… least resistance; sliding or shearing of layers of ice one on top of the other; and rearrangement of the granules when pressure causes melting. Sudden, rapid movements of glaciers, called glacier surges, have been observed in Alaskan and other glaciers, with evidence for such abnormal movements as the crumpled lines of surface debris found on them. It is thought that the relatively sudden movement and melting of glaciers may be indicative of climate warming.