Avedis Kalpaklian Everest

What is the difference between a Crevice and a crevasse?

 

Both terms come from the Anglo-French word crevasse, to break.

 

 

Crevasse

 

  • Crevasses form in the top layers of a moving glacier, usually because some parts of the massive body are moving at a different pace than the rest. If a glacier is moving over varied terrain (over mountains and down valleys) or when the glacier turns a corner (the ice on the outside moves faster than the ice on the inside), the glacier can stretch and fracture.
    A glacier may have more than one crevasse, called “Seracs”.

 

crevice

  • Crevices are fractures in rocks commonly caused by stress exceeding the rock strength, causing the rock to lose cohesion along it’s weakest plane.
    Fractures can provide permeability for fluid movement, such as water or hydrocarbons.