The Cook Ice Cap or Cook Glacier ( or ''Glacier Cook'') is a large
ice cap
In glaciology, an ice cap is a mass of ice that covers less than of land area (usually covering a highland area). Larger ice masses covering more than are termed ice sheets.
Description
By definition, ice caps are not constrained by topogra ...
in the
Kerguelen Islands
The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...
in the
French Southern Territories
The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (, TAAF) is an overseas territory ( or ) of France. It consists of:
* Adélie Land (), the French claim on the continent of Antarctica.
* Crozet Islands (), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south o ...
zone
Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to:
Places Military zones
* Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation
* Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation
* Korean Demilit ...
The Cook Ice Cap reaches a maximum elevation of in its central area.
GoogleEarth
Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...
It had a surface of approximately in 1963, having shrunk to about in recent times.
Named after British explorer
James Cook
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
(1728–1779), on French navigational charts of the early 20th century this ice cap appears as " Richthofen Glacier" (''Glacier Richthofen'').
Glaciers
About sixty
glacier
A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...
s flow from the inner ice cap in a roughly radial pattern. At the feet of the snout of these outlet glaciers there are often
terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called an end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front e ...
s with dammed lakes of varying sizes. Further down the glacial meltwaters have formed numerous
outwash plain
An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the glacier terminus, terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying r ...
s at certain, mostly inland, locations. Of the glaciers originating in the Cook Ice Cap, only the Pasteur and Mariotte Glaciers have their termini in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
Chamonix Glacier
Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (; ; (no longer in use)), more commonly known simply as Chamonix (), is a commune in the department in the region in Southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics, held in 1924.
Chamonix is situated i ...
Naumann Glacier Naumann is a Central German variation of the surname Neumann. Notable people with the surname include:
* Albert Naumann (1875–1952), German Olympic fencer
* Alexander Naumann (1837–1922), German chemist
* Christian August Naumann (1705–176 ...
''(Glacier Naumann)''
*
Explorateur Glacier
The Explorateur () is a soft-ripened French triple cream cow's-milk cheese made in the Île-de-France region of France.
''(Glacier de l'Explorateur)''
*
Ampère Glacier
The ampere or amp (symbol A) is the base unit of electric current in the International System of Units.
Ampere or Ampère may also refer to:
People
* André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), physicist, mathematician and namesake of the ampere unit
* ...
''(Glacier Ampère)''
*
La Diozaz Glacier
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
*"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...
''(Glacier de la Diozaz)''
*
Lavoisier Glacier
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier ( ; ; 26 August 17438 May 1794), CNRS (
Descartes Glacier ''(Glacier Descartes)''
*
Pierre Curie Glacier
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
List of glaciers
A glacier ( ) or () is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation (melting and sublimation) over many years, often centuries. Glaciers slowly defor ...