The longest glacier in the world stretches for 400 kilometres across the frozen wastes of Antarctica. At its widest point it measures 64 kilometres from side to side. Like every other glacier on earth, this is an enormous river of ice, hundreds of metres deep. It has built up over millions of years from snow that has fallen on the mountains. As this piles up layer on layer, the snow at the bottom becomes compressed into ice. It starts moving slowly downhill too. The melting and freezing of the ice beneath the glacier helps this slow, steady movement. In a way it acts as a sort of lubricant.
When it comes to glaciers, though, slow is the word. Up in Greenland there is a glacier that outstrips all the others on earth. This clocks-up a top speed of 24 metres a day. Yes, that’s one metre an hour. Still, when you consider the millions of tons of ice moving in it, that is not bad going.
Picture Credit : Google
