Glaciation in the UK
The UK's ice age
- Europe's last ice age peaked 20,000 years ago and ended about 11,500 years ago
- At this time, 30% of the world's land was covered in ice
- Temperatures remained below 0°C all year round in northern regions, particularly Scotland, allowing a 1km thick ice sheet to cover most of the country
- Ireland, Wales, northern England, Scotland, and the midlands were covered in perpetual ice
- Much of the country was uninhabitable for humans
- Today, much of upland Britain is covered in u-shaped valleys along with steep, eroded mountain peaks
- During the ice age, areas covered in ice were weathered and eroded to create a dramatic mountain scenery
- After the ice age, those areas were exposed as deep valleys with sediment deposits
What is a glacier?
- Glaciers are large, slow moving rivers of ice
- Giant glaciers are called ice sheets
- Glacial ice is formed from layer upon layer of falling snow every year
- It takes 20 to 30 years for the layers to compress and form glacial ice
- Glaciers will grow in size if the temperature stays below 0°C
- Glaciers shape our landscape