http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier#Fracture_zone_and_cracks The top 50 meters of the glacier, being under less pressure, are more rigid; this section is known as the fracture zone, and mostly moves as a single unit, over the plastic-like flow of the lower section. When the glacier moves through irregular terrain, cracks up to 50 meters deep form in the fracture zone. The lower layers of glacial ice flow and deform plastically under the pressure, allowing the glacier as a whole to move...