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Question
How do glaciers accomplish the work of reducing high mountains into low hills and plains?
Solution
Masses of ice moving as sheets over the land or as linear flows down the slopes of mountains in broad trough-like valleys are called glaciers. A glacier in its valley is slow, unlike water flow. The movement could be a few centimeters to a few meters a day or even less or more. Glaciers move basically because of the force of gravity.
Erosion by glaciers is tremendous because of friction caused by the sheer weight of the ice. The material plucked from the land by glaciers gets dragged along the floors or sides of the valleys and causes great damage through abrasion and plucking. Glaciers can cause significant damage to even unweathered rocks and can reduce high mountains into low hills and plains.
As glaciers continue to move, debris gets removed, divides get lowered, and eventually, the slope is reduced to such an extent that, glaciers will stop moving leaving only a mass of low hills and vast outwash plains along with other depositional features.
A panoramic diagram of glacial landscape with various depositional landform
(adapted and modified from Spencer, 1962)
