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Solve all your image-related issues in one go $50 Off Home Warranty - Expires in 24 Hours! ier is a loanword from French and goes back, via Franco-Provençal, to the Vulgar Latin glaciārium, derived from the Late Latin glacia, and ultimately Latin glaciēs, meaning "ice".[9] The processes and features caused by or related to glaciers are referred to as glacial. The process of glacier establishment, growth and flow is called glaciation. The corresponding area of study is called glaciology. Glaciers are important components of the global cryosphere. Types Classification by size, shape and behavior Further information: Glacier morphology The Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru is the second-largest glaciated area in the tropics Glaciers are categorized by their morphology, thermal characteristics, and behavior. Alpine glaciers form on the crests and slopes of mountains. A glacier that fills a valley is called a valley glacier, or alternatively, an alpine glacier or mountain glacier.[10] A large body of glacial ice astride a mountain, mountain range, or volcano is termed an ice cap or ice field.[11] Ice caps have an area less than 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi) by definition. Glacial bodies larger than 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi) are called ice sheets or continental glaciers.[12] Several kilometers deep, they obscure the underlying topography. Only nunataks protrude from their surfaces. The only extant ice sheets are the two that cover most of Antarctica and Greenland.[13] They contain vast quantities of freshwater, enough that if both melted, global sea levels would rise by over 70 m (230 ft).[14] Portions of an ice sheet or cap that extend into water are called ice shelves; they tend to be thin with limited slopes and reduced velocities.[15] Narrow, fast-moving sections of an ice sheet are called ice streams.[16][17] In Antarctica, many ice streams drain into large ice shelv