Glaciers

Question 1

What 3 different ways can the landscape be eroded and weathered in glacial areas?

Answer 1

Freeze-thaw weathering, abrasion and plucking

Question 2

Freeze-thaw weathering (define)

Answer 2

When glaciers freeze and melt inside a rock over and over again until it breaks.

Question 3

Abrasion (define)

Answer 3

When glaciers move, it erodes away at the land surrounding the ice

Question 4

Plucking (define)

Answer 4

When glaciers move, they scrape along the surrounding rock and pull away pieces of rock

Question 5

What are the 6 different landforms made by glaciers?

Answer 5

U-shaped valley, pyramidal peak, arête, cirque, hanging valley and tarn

Question 6

U-shaped valley (looks like)

Answer 6

A wide, steep sided valley eroded by a glacier

Question 7

Pyramid peak (looks like)

Answer 7

A sharp- edged mountain peak

Question 8

Arête (looks like)

Answer 8

A knife-edged ridge, often formed between two corries

Question 9

Cirque (looks like)

Answer 9

A deep depression on hill side with a steep back wall

Question 10

Hanging valley (looks like)

Answer 10

A smaller valley resting on the side of a main valley, often has a waterfall hanging off it

Question 11

Tarn (looks like)

Answer 11

A depression on a hill side that was formed by a glacier that is now full of melt-water

Question 12

How can people use glacial areas?

Answer 12

Glaciers provide drinking water. To make money, it’s used for farming.

Question 13

What different things can lead to an avalanche happening?

Answer 13

Bombs, rockets but not loud noises

Question 14

How can avalanches be prevented or managed?

Answer 14

Prediction, Explosions, Communication, Land-use zoning, Snow fences and barriers and Reforestation

Question 15

Prediction (use)

Answer 15

People try to predict when avalanches are going to occur

Question 16

Explosions (use)

Answer 16

Avalanches can be started deliberately in order to prevent the snow building up

Question 17

Communication (use)

Answer 17

Signs of the risk of avalanches can be displayed in villages and also by the ski lifts

Question 18

Land-use zoning (use)

Answer 18

Land can be grouped into red, yellow and green areas. Roads and railways can be protected by tunnels over them in the areas where an avalanche path is likely to travel.

Question 19

Snow fences and barriers

Answer 19

These can be used to divert and break up the path of the avalanche

Question 20

Reforestation (use)

Answer 20

Trees can be planted, increasing stability of the slope and helping to reduce the damage further down the valley

Question 21

Can you name an example of a place affected by a large avalanche? What happened there?

Answer 21

The avalanche in Galtür was cause by an Atlantic storm