Ice caps

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Deutsch: Als Eiskappe, Plateaugletscher bezeichnet man einen ausgedehnten, festes Land bedeckenden Gletscher mit einer Fläche von weniger als 50.000 km². Im Gegensatz dazu stehen die Eisschilde mit mehr als 50.000 km² Fläche.
English: An ice cap is an ice mass that covers less than 50,000 km² of land area (usually covering a highland area). Masses of glacier ice that cover more than 50,000 km² are termed an ice sheet.Ice caps are not constrained by topographical features (i.e., they will lie over the top of mountains). By contrast, ice masses of similar size that are constrained by topographical features are known as ice fields. The dome of an ice cap is usually centred on the highest point of a massif. Ice flows away from this high point (the ice divide) towards the ice cap's periphery.
Français : Une calotte glaciaire est un type de glacier formant une étendue de glace de grandes dimensions mais dont la superficie n'excède pas 50 000 km2, et dont les caractéristiques le rapprochent des inlandsis. En raison de leur position (généralement polaire) et/ou leur vaste surface et de leur albédo, elle jouent un rôle majeur dans la stabilisation du climat de la Terre.
Íslenska: Jökulhettur, hveljöklar eru hins vegar jöklar sem eru búnir að myndast á fjalli með sléttum toppi eða lítil háslétta. Þannig jökular eru nokkuð algengar á Íslandi eins og til dæmis Eiríksjökull eða Þórisjökull. Annars vegar eru líka stærri útgáfur til, eiginlegir hveljöklar eins og Vatnajökull. Þeir verða til þegar margir staðbundnir jöklar vaxa saman með tímanum í viðáttumiklu fjallendi, einkum ef jöklunarmörk lækka mikið á allöngum kuldaskeiðum.


Satellite images of ice caps

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An ice cap in Africa:Kilimanjaro

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Ice caps in polar regions

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Ice caps in Iceland

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Several important ice caps are forming the landscape in Iceland, some smaller ones are to be found in the periphery.

The most notorious englaciated volcano of Iceland: Eyjafjallajökull

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Neighbouring Katla volcano, hiding under the Mýrdalsjökull ice cap

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Langjökull and Hofsjökull

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