How to Locate a Glacier

It is hard to miss a glacier when looking at one. The enormous ice formations glow with varying hues of blue, making them unmistakable when in glaciated regions. Locating glaciers on maps is not so easy if you don't know what to look for. USGS topographical maps are among the handiest and most accessible sources to locate glaciers. Use topo maps to locate the ice formations.

Things You'll Need

  • Topographical maps of glaciated regions
  • Binoculars
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Instructions

  1. Locating on Maps

    • 1

      Open the map and spread it out on a flat surface. Look over the map and find dense areas of striation lines. Striation lines indicate elevation. Dense striation lines mean the region is a mountain zone.

    • 2

      Look between the dense striations for a white background with blue striations lines. These indicate glaciers. On many Alaska topo maps, the glaciated regions fill up large sections of the map. These indicate ice fields. Ice fields feed the many branches of glaciers. The glaciers that branch off from the ice fields are called valley glaciers.

    • 3

      Look for dense striations with a small oblong white background with blue striation lines. These are hanging, or cirque, glaciers.

    • 4

      Search the glacial striations to find striation lines that run down the sides and center of the glaciers. These are called moraines. Moraines are rock and sediment dug up from the glacial movement. Moraines along the side of glaciers are medial moraines, while moraines at the end of glacial tongues are terminal moraines.

    Actual Observation

    • 5

      Look between mountain valleys for large, dense ice packs. Look for deep blue cracks and erratic ice tongues. These are glaciers. The deep blue cracks are crevasses and the ice tongues are known as ice falls or serracs.

    • 6

      Hire an air charter to go flight seeing in glacial regions. Look down from the airplane and look for large mountain valleys filled with ice. These are valley glaciers. Cross reference these with a topo map of the region.

    • 7

      Look into the bowls at the tops of mountains. Glaciers in these bowls are cirque, or hanging, glaciers.