Hanging glacier

A hanging glacier originates high on the wall of a glacial valley and descends only part of the way to the surface of the main glacier and abruptly stops, typically at a cliff.

[1] Avalanching and icefalls are the mechanisms for ice and snow transfer to the valley floor below.

[1] Hanging glaciers are inherently unstable, and may produce catastrophic break-off events.

These glaciers are often partially frozen to their bedrock, allowing them to locate on steep slopes.

Break-off events leading to substantial ice avalanches pose severe hazards to humans, settlements, and infrastructure in alpine terrain worldwide.

A hanging glacier on Mount Shuksan .
North-looking oblique aerial photograph showing a small, unnamed hanging glacier located in the Chugach Mountains, near Cordova Peak, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.