You probably know that wind and water can shape Earth’s land. But did you know that glaciers can too?
Glaciers are made of ice. Ice is a solid. But glaciers are so large and heavy that they can flow like a river.
Glaciers are found on high mountains. It is cold there, so snow doesn’t melt. Instead, the snow piles up and gets squished together, forming ice. Over many years, the ice builds up and forms a glacier.
The glacier becomes so heavy that it slowly moves down the mountains. The glacier scrapes and shapes the mountains’ sides as it moves.
Glaciers are also found in the Arctic and in Antarctica. They press and grind the land below as they move.
Glaciers have shaped the world in surprising ways. Millions of years ago, glaciers covered the desert of South Africa. The glaciers slowly moved, scraping across the desert’s rocks. Today, we see flat, polished rocks and know that glaciers were once there.

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