The Ice Age: When Giant Ice Covered the Land
Long, long ago, the world got very cold. So much snow fell that it never melted. It piled up and squished down until it turned into thick, hard ice. This ice was taller than a house. Taller than a hundred houses! It was called a glacier, and it covered the ground where cities are today.
What You'll Learn
In this lesson you will: • Find out what a glacier is. • See how ice can move and push rocks. • Meet animals that lived on the cold ice.
What Is a Glacier?
A glacier is a huge, slow river of ice. It is not water that splashes. It is solid ice you could walk on! Glaciers are made from snow. Snow falls. More snow falls on top. Year after year, the snow gets packed down hard, like when you press a snowball tight. After a very long time, it turns to thick blue ice.
A glacier moves! But it is SO slow you cannot see it. It creeps like a snail — sometimes just a little bit each day. Push, push, push, down the hill.
Ice That Pushes Rocks
As a glacier creeps along, it is very strong. It grabs rocks and dirt and drags them. Big rocks scrape the ground and leave long scratches, like a crayon dragged across paper. When the ice melts, it drops the rocks in a new spot. That is how a glacier can carry a rock as big as a car far, far away!
Animals on the Ice
Furry animals lived near the cold ice. The woolly mammoth looked like an elephant in a big fuzzy coat. Its thick fur kept it warm. There were reindeer and Arctic foxes too. Each one had warm fur or fat to stay cozy when the wind was icy and cold.
Match each word to what it means.
Terms
Definitions
Drag terms onto their definitions, or click a term then click a definition to match.
What is a glacier made from?
How does a glacier move?
Make Your Own Slow Glacier
With a grown-up, freeze water in a small cup to make ice. Set the ice on a tilted cookie sheet with a little sand on it. Watch! Does the ice slide down slowly? Does it push the sand? Draw a picture of what your 'glacier' did. Deliverable: your drawing with one sentence about how the ice moved.
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