Glaciers and Glacial Landforms

A view of the blue ice of Pedersen Glacier at its terminus in Pedersen Lagoon (Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska)

NPS Photo/Jim Pfeiffenberger

Introduction

Glaciers are moving bodies of ice that can change entire landscapes. They sculpt mountains, carve valleys, and move vast quantities of rock and sediment.

In the past, glaciers have covered more than one third of Earth's surface, and they continue to flow and to shape features in many places.

Glaciers and the landscapes they have shaped provide invaluable information about past climates and offer keys to understanding climate change today.

Glacier Landforms

Past glaciers have created a variety of landforms that we see in National Parks today, such as:

Types of Glaciers

Glacier Ice Features

Featured Video—Yosemite Glaciers

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  Yosemite Nature Notes 12: Glaciers

  Yosemite National Park is famous for its spectacular glacially carved landscape. Although glaciers have come and gone many times in the past, there are still two active glaciers near Yosemite's highest peaks.

  Duration:

  8 minutes, 34 seconds

Featured Article

Geological Monitoring

Photo Gallery

Glacier Parks

Related Links

• More Park Landforms
• Landforms Photo Galleries
• NPS—Glaciers
• NPS—Geohazards
• NPS—Geology