CHAPTER FOUR

Glaciers and Icebergs

The coldest places on Earth are in the highest mountains, and at the North and South Poles. Here, there are rivers made of ice. They are called glaciers. Glaciers begin when snow falls.

Mountain glaciers move very, very slowly down the mountain. When the ice melts, the water goes into rivers. It can take thousands of years for the water from a glacier to get to the ocean.

At the North and South Poles, where the glaciers are near the ocean, very big pieces of ice break off. These are called icebergs. Icebergs move slowly on the ocean.

Near the North Pole, Ilulissat is one of the most incredible places on Earth — and one of the coldest. The glacier and icebergs here are very, very big. The glacier is about 40 kilometers long and it moves slowly to the Arctic Ocean. It moves about 30 meters every day.

Icebergs are dangerous for boats. Most of the ice is under the water, so people in boats can’t see all the ice.