What is Glacial ice?

Glacial ice is like a giant snowman that never stops growing and moving.

Imagine you have a big pile of snow, and every winter, more snow falls on top of it. Over time, the snow gets squished together by its own weight, just like when you step on a sponge and it gets smaller. This squishing turns the snow into something harder and denser, called ice. This is how glacial ice forms.

When glacial ice gets heavy enough, it starts to slide, slowly at first, like a sleepy snail. It moves down mountains or across valleys because of gravity, just like when you roll a ball down a hill. As it moves, it carries rocks and dirt with it, scraping the ground below.

Sometimes, these giant ice piles get so big that they cover whole mountains or even parts of the Earth. When they finally melt, they leave behind valleys and lakes, kind of like a giant snowman melting into a puddle.