The Andean Glacier and Water Atlas

Glacier classification

based on World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) and Global Land Ice Measurements from Space Initiative (GLIMS) Morphology – Primary Classification

Mountain glacier Develop in high mountain regions and can range from small masses of glacial ice to large valley-filling systems. Mountain glaciers include cirque, niche or crater type, hanging glaciers and ice aprons. Ninety-one per cent of the glaciers of Peru’s Cordillera Blanca are mountain glaciers.

Outlet glacier Flows down from an ice sheet, ice field or ice cap beyond its margins. Has no clearly defined catchment area and usually follows local topographic depressions.

Valley glacier

A glacier that flows down a valley and has a well-defined catchment area. Ice free slopes usually overlook the glacier surface.

Ice field Approximately horizontal ice-covered area (no dome shape) smaller than 50,000 km 2 . Ice masses are not thick enough to obscure the subsurface topography. Two of the world’s most extensive ice fields are found in Patagonia.

Glacieret A small ice mass of indefinite shape that forms in hollows, river beds and on protected slopes. Glacierets develop from snow drifts, avalanches and heavy snow accumulation in certain years. Usually there is no visible flow pattern with almost no ice movement. The accumulation and ablation areas are often not clearly defined.

Ice cap Dome-shaped masses of glacier ice with radial flow. An example is the Quelccaya Ice Cap located in Peru. The ice cap is at an average altitude of 5,470 m and spans an area of 44 km 2 (Thompson et al., 1985).

Rock glacier

A glacier-shaped mass of rock in a cirque or valley containing interstitial ice, slowly moving downslope as a debris mass.

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