page_title: Glacier
section_title: Creation
hierarchical_section_title: Glacier / Creation
caption_attribution_description: English: Icebergs are breaking off glaciers at Cape York, Greenland. The picture was taken from a helicopter. Français&#160;: Icebergs issus des glaciers à Cape York. La photographie a été prise depuis un wikt:fr:hélicoptère.
context_page_description: A glacier is a large body of ice and snow. It forms because the snow in an area does not all melt in summer. Each winter, more snow is added. The weight of all the snow creates pressure. This pressure turns the lower parts of the snow into ice. After this happens for many years, the glacier will start growing large. It becomes so heavy that gravity causes the ice to move. It flows downwards like water but very slowly. A glacier only moves about 50 metres per year. New snowfalls replace the parts that flow away.
  Glaciers are the largest sources fresh water on Earth. The largest bodies of salt water are the Oceans
context_section_description: Glaciers will only form in places that are cold enough and get enough snow over time. This can take a long time. It often takes tens or hundreds of years for a glacier to form. There are two kinds of glaciers: continental glaciers and alpine glaciers. Alpine glaciers are also called mountain glaciers.
  Continental glaciers are glaciers that spread out over a large area of land.  They were created mostly during the Ice Ages a long time ago. There are still some continental glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica. They often flow downwards into the sea and break up. The broken parts that float in the sea are called icebergs.
  Alpine glaciers form in mountain areas. They are smaller than continental glaciers. Alpine glaciers usually flow until they reach a point where the temperature is warm enough that the ice melts completely during the summer.
caption: Icebergs breaking off glaciers at Cape York, Greenland
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