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photo: ice shelf with ice front; glacier (Environment Canada)
A floating ice sheet of considerable thickness showing 2 - 50 m or more above sea-level, attached to the coast. Usually of great horizontal extent and with a level or gently undulating surface. Nourished by annual snow accumulation and often also by the seaward extension of land Glacier s. Limited areas may be aground. The seaward edge is termed an Ice front.