Glacier: (glA'shur), —n. An extended mass of ice formed from snow falling and accumulating over the years and moving very slowly, either descending from high mountains, as in valley glaciers, or moving outward from centers of accumulation, as in continental glaciers

Cool Facts About Glaciers •There are an estimated 100,000 glaciers in Alaska. •Alaska glaciers cover 29, 000 square miles (5 % of the state).   •10% of the planets land area is covered with glaciers. •Glaciers store about 75% of the world's freshwater. •Glacierized areas cover over 15,000,000 square kilometers. •In the United States, glaciers cover over 75,000 square kilometers, with most of the glaciers located in Alaska. •During the last Ice Age, glaciers covered 32% of the total land area. •If all land ice melted, sea level would rise approximately 70 meters worldwide. •North America's longest glacier is the Bering Glacier in Alaska, measuring 204 kilometers long. •The Malaspina Glacier in Alaska is the world's largest piedmont glacier, covering over 8,000 square kilometers and measuring over 193 kilometers across at its widest point. •Glacial ice often appears blue because ice absorbs all other colors and reflects blue. •In Washington state alone, glaciers provide 470 billion gallons of water each summer.

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Glaciers

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