CONCEPT CHECKS: CH. 11 GLACIERS AND GLACIATION
11.1
1. Where are glaciers found today, and what percentage of Earth’s land surface do they cover?
2. Describe how glaciers fit into the hydrologic cycle. What role do they play in the rock cycle?
3. List and briefly distinguish among four types of glaciers.
11.2
1. Describe the two components of glacial flow. How fast do glaciers move?
2. Under what circumstances will the front of a glacier advance? Retreat? Remain stationary?
11.3
1. How do glaciers accumulate their load of sediment?
2. What factors influence the capability of a glacier to erode?
11.4
1. How does a glaciated mountain valley differ in appearance from a mountain valley that was not
glaciated?
2. Describe the features created by glacial erosion that you might expect to see in an area where valley
glaciers recently existed.
11.5
1. What is the difference between till and stratified drift?
2. Distinguish between a terminal end moraine and a recessional end moraine.
3. Describe the formation of a medial moraine.
4. List four depositional features other than moraines.
11.6
1. Describe at least four effects of Ice Age glaciers aside from the formation of major erosional and
depositional features.
11.7
1. About what percentage of Earth’s land surface was affected by Pleistocene glaciers?
11.8
1. How does the theory of plate tectonics help us understand the cause of ice ages?
2. Does the theory of plate tectonics explain alternating glacial-interglacial climates during the
Pleistocene? Why or why not?