Cold Reads Practice

Glaciers are huge masses of ice that form when snow piles up year after year without melting. Over time, the weight of the snow presses down and turns into solid ice. Glaciers are found in cold places like Alaska, Greenland, and Antarctica. Some glaciers are thousands of feet thick!

Glaciers move very slowly down mountains or across land, sometimes only a few inches per day. As they move, they act like giant bulldozers, pushing rocks and soil. They carve deep valleys and create U-shaped canyons. When glaciers melt, they leave behind large boulders and hills of gravel called moraines. Thousands of years ago, glaciers covered much more of Earth than they do today. Many of the lakes and valleys we see now were created by ancient glaciers.