Meltwater is a stream of water formed by which type of glacier?

Meltwater is a stream of water formed by which type of glacier?

• A. Ice sheet
• B. Valley glacier
• C. Continental glacier
• D. Alpine glacier

Answer: (B)

Meltwater comes from melting glacier ice and snow. When a glacier sits in a mountain valley, its meltwater flows down the valley floor, forming streams. A valley glacier occupies and moves through a valley, so the water produced by its melting naturally becomes a stream along that valley. Ice sheets and continental glaciers are huge ice masses not confined to valleys, and while they melt, the characteristic stream running through a valley is most clearly associated with a valley glacier. An alpine glacier is a broader term for mountain glaciers, but the scenario of a stream running down a valley points to a valley glacier.

Meltwater comes from melting glacier ice and snow. When a glacier sits in a mountain valley, its meltwater flows down the valley floor, forming streams. A valley glacier occupies and moves through a valley, so the water produced by its melting naturally becomes a stream along that valley. Ice sheets and continental glaciers are huge ice masses not confined to valleys, and while they melt, the characteristic stream running through a valley is most clearly associated with a valley glacier. An alpine glacier is a broader term for mountain glaciers, but the scenario of a stream running down a valley points to a valley glacier.