Dirt cone
Encyclopedia
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
or snow patch, in which dirt or debris has fallen onto ice, firn or snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
. This debris forms a coating which, when thick enough, insulates the underlying ice or snow. Although deposition of sediments may be uniform originally, dirt cones can be produced due to the constant growing and shrinking of the underlying snow, which in turn masses the debris together. The surrounding ice or snow melts away, leaving the dirt cone.