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An icefall is a phenomenon found in some glaciers. When a valley glacier proceeds over a ledge or a cliff, the resulting formation is known as an icefall.
The Athabasca Glacier with its icefall in the background, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada It has been said that an icefall is much like a waterfall, only very much slower. Indeed, it is true that the word icefall is formed by analogy with the word waterfall.
As slow as glaciers generally are, the relative speed of the ice in an icefall is very much faster than other parts of the glacier. Icefalls generally have a cracked and much less smooth appearance than the rest of the glacier. They also vary greatly in height. There is one at the Lambert Glacier in Antarctica which is about 400m high.
A smaller icefall is to be found on the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada (see the photo).
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