Note
There is no consensus among different schools on what the definition should be based on: morphology or origin.
Category
A type of periglacial, glacial, or permafrost landform.
Morphological Definition and Terminology
- (1)
A rock glacier is “a slow-moving accumulation of (angular) rock debris, usually with a distinct ridge/furrow pattern and steep front and side slopes, whose length is generally greater than its width (tongue-shaped) existing on a mountain valley floor” (van Everdingen 1998).
- (2)
A debris-covered glacier is a glacier, partly or wholly covered by weathered debris in its terminal (snout) area. The term may refer to a long, active glacier or to an area of ice slowly down-wasting under a debris cover. These may be sometimes associated with rock glaciers.
Morphological definition of rock glaciers is preferred by supporters of glacial formation model (e.g., Potter 1972) because the “permafrost model” assumes that the presence of permafrost, not explicit in imagery,...
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Whalley, W.B., Matsuoka, N., Sik, A., Kereszturi, Á., Hargitai, H. (2015). Rock Glacier and Debris-Covered Glacier. In: Hargitai, H., Kereszturi, Á. (eds) Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3134-3_320
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