Piedmont Type Of Glacier (Noun)
Meaning
A type of glaciation characteristic of Alaska; large valley glaciers meet to form an almost stagnant sheet of ice.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made).
Examples
- Piedmont glaciers are found in areas where valley glaciers are heavily fed and where there is enough snowfall to maintain a continuous flow of ice into the piedmont area.
- In Alaska, piedmont glaciers can form in valleys and spread out onto the adjacent plains or lowlands.
- Piedmont-type glaciers, like the Malaspina Glacier in Alaska, can cover vast areas of low-lying terrain and be surrounded by higher peaks and valleys.
- Piedmont glaciers often occur where multiple valley glaciers merge and the resulting sheet of ice spreads out in all directions, becoming nearly stagnant.
- A characteristic of piedmont glaciers is their distinctive "lobate" shape, where the sheet of ice spreads out and covers a wide area, such as in the piedmont glaciers found in Alaska.