Glaciers are massive Slow-moving sheets of ice One-tenth of land they cover With some miles thick in height Gravity is the force Causing them to flow They form at high altitudes And where temps are very low So, Alpine glaciers and caps Have mountain ranges as their source While Polar caps and ice sheets Are glaciers at poles, of course [Break] When more snow falls each year Than in same time can melt Accumulation happens, and Greater weight is ever felt [Break] By the layers down below And this we label Firn Dense, old compacted snow That does not yet flow [Break] Over centuries Pressure keeps on growing As long as temps stay cold And it keeps on snowing [Break] Until finally A glacier we see Snow transformed into ice, and Flowing due to gravity [Break] As for warmer months They may bring Ablation That’s melting at the Snout: Outer edge location [Break] Which can cause retreat Of glacier and sheet To Zone of Equilibrium Where the two processes meet [Break] That’s Accumulation Balanced with Ablation Bounding the extent Of glacier expansion [Break] Glaciers are massive Slow-moving sheets of ice One-tenth of land they cover With some miles thick in height Gravity is the force Causing them to flow They form at high altitudes And where temps are very low So, Alpine glaciers and caps Have mountain ranges as their source While Polar caps and ice sheets Are glaciers at poles, of course [Break] Glaciers carve out the land As over it they flow Weathering, eroding The rocks trapped down below [Break] Now, freeze-thaw weathering When water seeps into cracks Breaks the rock apart When to ice it goes back [Break] Increasing its volume, and Lowering density These two things are why Icebergs float on the sea [Break] And then there’s rock erosion From Plucking and Abrasion When meltwater returns to ice ‘Round rocks, it grips, like a vice Plucks them from the terrain As ice expands its domain [Break] Then when same rocks smooth, scour The landscape from the power Of a glacier’s motion That we call Abrasion [Break] Canyons, ravines, gorges These a river forges Shaped quite like a ‘V’ But glaciers, you see Carve out valleys U-shaped A wider troff out-scraped [Break] Flat or rounded bottoms With sides steeper, straighter And deeper be the valley? Was the ice weight greater [Break] Now, mountains steep and craggy Make sure your gear’s not raggy When climbing, one may view Bowl-shaped hollow, or lake too [Break] This hollow we call a Surrkk Erosion did the work And lake thereupon? That we call a Tarn [Break] Material eroded In time, is deposited This stuff we call Till Forming ridge and hill [Break] And hills that are more bumpy Are made from rocky debris These we call Moraines But when smooth hill remains? Drumlin is the name Showing whence ice came [Break] Glaciers are massive Slow-moving sheets of ice One-tenth of land they cover With some miles thick in height Gravity is the force Causing them to flow They form at high altitudes And where temps are very low So, Alpine glaciers and caps Have mountain ranges as their source While Polar caps and ice sheets Are glaciers at poles, of course
