Can flow long distances and are often fed by tributary glaciers forming a branching network. Only two current ones are Greenland and Antarctica. Up to 3 km thick. Can depress the crust beneath them. Nourished by snowfall over their interior.
Ice caps Large reaches of ice in upland areas which feed outlet or valley glaciers.
Piedmont glaciers Occupy broad lowlands at the bases of steep mountains and form when one or more valley glaciers emerge from their confining valleys. Formation of Glacial Ice Snow is the raw material. Glacial ice forms in areas where more snow falls during the winter than melts during the summer. Slip occurs between layers of ice molecules which are stacked one on top of the other, much like a deck of cards. Often referred to as intracrystalline slip.