All Free General Knowledge MCQs with Answers

• A. A glacier that flows down a mountain valley
• B. A glacier floating on the sea
• C. A glacier in a desert
• D. A glacier covering a continent

Explanation: Valley glaciers are tongues of ice flowing down mountain valleys.

• A. Sea ice around Antarctica
• B. A vast glacier covering a large land area, over 50,000 sq km
• C. A glacier in a mountain valley
• D. A frozen waterfall

Explanation: Ice sheets like Antarctica's and Greenland's are continent-scale glaciers.

• A. A glacier inside a volcano
• B. A glacier under the sea
• C. A glacier that spreads out at the foot of a mountain range
• D. A glacier on a plateau

Explanation: Piedmont glaciers fan out where valley glaciers reach flat lowlands.

• A. The altitude above which snow remains all year
• B. The boundary of the Arctic
• C. The edge of a glacier
• D. The line of maximum snowfall

Explanation: Above the snow line, snow survives summer melt and feeds glaciers.

• A. Wind-blown ice crystals
• B. Compacted, granular snow in the stage between fresh snow and glacier ice
• C. Fresh powder snow
• D. Melted glacier water

Explanation: Firn is old snow compacted into dense granules, on its way to becoming glacier ice.

• A. A glacier's meltwater stream
• B. A mountain pass
• C. A deep crack in a glacier's surface
• D. A type of moraine

Explanation: Crevasses are deep fractures where glacier ice is stretched.

• A. A crack in glacier ice
• B. A type of iceberg
• C. A glacier's meltwater lake
• D. Rock debris carried and deposited by a glacier

Explanation: Moraines are the rock debris glaciers transport and dump.

• A. The glacier's source area
• B. Debris along a glacier's side
• C. A lake inside a glacier
• D. A ridge of debris deposited at the end (snout) of a glacier

Explanation: Terminal moraines mark the farthest advance of a glacier.

• A. A ridge of debris along the side of a valley glacier
• B. Debris at the glacier's snout
• C. A crack across the glacier
• D. A meltwater channel

Explanation: Lateral moraines are debris ridges piled along valley glacier edges.

• A. A glacier that flows uphill
• B. A boulder carried by ice and deposited far from its source rock
• C. A melting ice shelf
• D. A sudden glacier surge

Explanation: Erratics are boulders plucked and dropped by glaciers far from their origin.

• A. A volcanic crater
• B. A glacier's meltwater waterfall
• C. A crack in sea ice
• D. An armchair-shaped hollow at a mountain's head carved by a glacier

Explanation: Cirques are bowl-shaped hollows gouged by glaciers at valley heads.

• A. A small lake that forms in a cirque
• B. A type of crevasse
• C. A moraine ridge
• D. A glacier's tributary

Explanation: Tarns are small mountain lakes occupying glacier-carved cirques.

• A. A glacier's snout
• B. A sharp, knife-edged ridge between two cirques or glaciated valleys
• C. A hanging valley
• D. A U-shaped valley

Explanation: Arêtes are narrow ridges left between adjacent glacial valleys.

• A. A type of iceberg
• B. A glacier's meltwater horn
• C. A pyramid-shaped peak formed by several cirques, such as the Matterhorn
• D. A curved moraine

Explanation: Glacial horns like the Matterhorn are sharp peaks carved by cirques on several sides.

• A. V-shaped
• B. Flat
• C. Circular
• D. U-shaped

Explanation: Glaciers gouge broad U-shaped valleys, unlike rivers' V-shaped ones.

• A. A tributary glacial valley that ends high above the main valley floor
• B. A valley between dunes
• C. A valley under a glacier
• D. A valley filled with water

Explanation: Hanging valleys are left perched when the main glacier deepens its valley faster.

• A. A sandbar
• B. A deep, narrow sea inlet formed by a glacier-carved valley flooded by the sea
• C. A glacier's meltwater river
• D. A volcanic island

Explanation: Fjords are drowned glacial valleys, deep and steep-sided.

• A. Sweden
• B. Iceland
• C. Finland
• D. Norway

Explanation: Norway's west coast is famed for its spectacular fjords.

• A. A smooth, oval hill made of glacial deposits (till)
• B. A winding gravel ridge
• C. A crack in a glacier
• D. A deep glacial lake

Explanation: Drumlins are streamlined hills shaped by moving ice.

• A. A type of moraine
• B. A long, winding ridge of sand and gravel deposited by meltwater streams under a glacier
• C. A glacier's snout
• D. A deep crack in ice

Explanation: Eskers are sinuous ridges left by subglacial meltwater streams.