glacier theory

1 definition found

glacier theory - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Glacier \Gla"cier\, n. [F. glacier, fr. glace ice, L. glacies.]
     An immense field or stream of ice, formed in the region of
     perpetual snow, and moving slowly down a mountain slope or
     valley, as in the Alps, or over an extended area, as in
     Greenland.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The mass of compacted snow forming the upper part of a
           glacier is called the firn, or n['e]v['e]; the glacier
           proper consist of solid ice, deeply crevassed where
           broken up by irregularities in the slope or direction
           of its path. A glacier usually carries with it
           accumulations of stones and dirt called moraines, which
           are designated, according to their position, as
           lateral, medial, or terminal (see Moraine). The
           common rate of flow of the Alpine glaciers is from ten
           to twenty inches per day in summer, and about half that
           in winter.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     Glacier theory (Geol.), the theory that large parts of the
        frigid and temperate zones were covered with ice during
        the glacial, or ice, period, and that, by the agency of
        this ice, the loose materials on the earth's surface,
        called drift or diluvium, were transported and
        accumulated.
        [1913 Webster]