Terrawatch: glacial erosion creates higher mountains

Description

Would Alaska’s Mount Denali – the highest peak in the US – be as tall if it was situated on the equator instead? Might the Himalayas be even taller if an ice age took hold? Every mountain range is sculpted by rain and wind, but some mountain belts are also sliced by glaciers, producing the classic horn-shaped peaks, knife-edge ridges and amphitheatre-like valleys, known as “cirques”. A new study shows that by lightening the load, glacial erosion helps to create higher mountains than might otherwise be expected.