The top 50 m (160 ft) of a glacier are rigid because they are under low pressure. This upper section is known as the fracture zone and moves mostly as a single unit over the plastically flowing lower section. When a glacier moves through irregular terrain, cracks called crevasses develop in the fracture zone. Crevasses form due to differences in glacier velocity. If two rigid sections of a glacier move at different speeds and directions, shear forces cause them to break apart, opening a crevasse. Crevasses are seldom more than 46 m (150 ft) deep but in some cases can be 300 m (1,000 ft) or even deeper. Beneath this point, the plasticity of the ice is too great for cracks to form. Intersecting crevasses can create isolated peaks in the ice, called seracs.

Why are the tops of glaciers rigid?