• 14 parts
  • Checked October 2026

Glacier Diagram Labeled

One valley glacier cut open from its head to its snout, with every part named.

Glacier Diagram Labeled

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Accumulation zone
  2. Ablation zone
  3. Equilibrium line
  4. Crevasses
  5. Terminus (snout)
  6. Meltwater stream
  7. Firn
  8. Glacier ice
  9. Bergschrund
  10. Icefall
  11. Lateral moraine
  12. Medial moraine
  13. Terminal moraine
  14. Direction of ice flow

Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the landforms a glacier leaves behind

All 14 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Start here: main parts 6

  1. Accumulation zone The upper part, where more snow is gained than lost.
  2. Ablation zone The lower part, where more ice is lost than gained.
  3. Equilibrium line The boundary between the accumulation zone and the ablation zone.
  4. Crevasses Cracks that open in the surface of a moving glacier.
  5. Terminus (snout) The lowest end of a glacier, also called its snout or toe.
  6. Meltwater stream A stream of water from the melting ice.

Then the details 8

  1. Firn Old, compacted snow on its way to becoming glacier ice.
  2. Glacier ice Dense ice formed from snow. It makes up most of a glacier.
  3. Bergschrund A large crevasse at the head of a glacier. The moving ice pulls away there.
  4. Icefall A steep part of a glacier with a broken, heavily crevassed surface.
  5. Lateral moraine A ridge of rock debris along the side of a glacier.
  6. Medial moraine A ridge of debris down the middle, formed where two glaciers merge.
  7. Terminal moraine A debris ridge across the valley. It marks the farthest point the ice reached.
  8. Direction of ice flow Gravity moves the ice down the valley.

How this list was compiled: Every name and definition checked on 2026-10-03 in two independent sources. (1) US Geological Survey, Glossary of Glacier Terminology (Open-File Report 2004-1216), https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1216/text.html : accumulation area, firn, firn line (which names the accumulation zone and the ablation zone), glacier ice, bergschrund, crevasse, icefall, flow, lateral, medial and terminal (end) moraine, terminus (toe, end or snout), outwash carried by meltwater. (2) National Park Service, Glossary of Geologic Terms, table at https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/sortable_dataset/geology/DBD85DC6-CA83-CEE3-0786454132D79FCD/nri-GlossaryTable.csv : ablation, bergschrund, crevasse. (3) National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cryosphere Glossary, https://nsidc.org/learn/cryosphere-glossary : accumulation zone, ablation zone, equilibrium line, firn, glacier ice, icefall, glacier terminus (snout or toe). (4) Tulane University, EENS 1110 Physical Geology, Glaciers and Glaciation, https://www2.tulane.edu/~sanelson/eens1110/glaciers.htm : crevasses, movement to lower elevations under gravity, lateral, medial and terminal moraines, meltwater streams. (5) Wikipedia, Glacier, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier : accumulation zone, ablation zone, equilibrium line, firn and glacial ice, bergschrund, crevasses, terminus (foot or snout), terminal, lateral and medial moraines, meltwater; and Wikipedia, Terminal moraine, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_moraine : the terminal moraine marks the maximum advance of the glacier (the same point as the farthest point reached in source 1). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry. The glacier is invented; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This glacier diagram, labeled part by part, cuts one invented valley glacier open from head to snout. Read the fourteen names, tap a part for one line about it, then quiz yourself or print the diagram blank.

Read the full guide

The ice

A glacier gains snow in its upper part, the accumulation zone, and loses ice in its lower part, the ablation zone. The equilibrium line runs between them. Under the snow, firn is turning into glacier ice. The bergschrund is the large crevasse at the head; an icefall is a steep, heavily crevassed stretch.

Rock and water

A lateral moraine runs along the side of the ice and a medial moraine down the middle, where two glaciers have merged. The terminal moraine lies in front of the terminus, or snout, and a meltwater stream runs from it.

  • Looking for a glacier diagram worksheet? Print blank gives the drawing with numbered rings, and the labeled print is its key.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a glacier?

From the top down: the bergschrund at the head, the accumulation zone, the equilibrium line, the ablation zone and the terminus, or snout. Crevasses and moraines mark the surface, and firn lies over glacier ice inside.

What is the difference between the accumulation zone and the ablation zone?

The accumulation zone is the upper part of a glacier, where more snow is gained than lost. The ablation zone is the lower part, where more is lost than gained. The equilibrium line is the boundary between them.

What is firn?

Firn is old, compacted snow, a stage between snow and glacier ice. As more snow presses down on it, firn becomes denser and turns into glacier ice.

What is a bergschrund?

A bergschrund is a large crevasse at the head of a glacier. It opens where the moving ice pulls away from the ice and snow that stay on the headwall.

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