crevasse

crevasse
/kreuh vas"/, n., v., crevassed, crevassing.
n.
1. a fissure, or deep cleft, in glacial ice, the earth's surface, etc.
2. a breach in an embankment or levee.
v.t.
3. to fissure with crevasses.
[1805-15, Amer.; < F; see CREVICE]

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Fissure or crack in a glacier resulting from stress produced by movement.

Crevasses range up to 65 ft (20 m) wide, 150 ft (45 m) deep, and several hundred yards long. Crevasses may be bridged by snow and become hidden, and they may close up as the glacier moves.

Crevasse in the Mozama Glacier on Mount Baker, Washington

Bob and Ira Spring

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 fissure or crack in a glacier resulting from stress produced by movement. Crevasses range up to 20 m (65 feet) wide, 45 m (148 feet) deep, and several hundred metres long. Most are named according to their positions with respect to the long axis of the glacier. Thus, there are longitudinal crevasses, which develop in areas of compressive stress; transverse crevasses, which develop in areas of tensile stress and are generally curved downstream; marginal crevasses, which develop when the central area of the glacier moves considerably faster than the outer edges; and bergschrund crevasses, which form between the cirque and glacier head. At the terminus of the glacier many crevasses may intersect each other, forming jagged pinnacles of ice called seracs. Crevasses may be bridged by snow and become hidden, and they may close up when the glacier moves over an area with less gradient.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • crevasse — [ krəvas ] n. f. • v. 1150; lat. pop. °crepacia; de crepare → crever 1 ♦ Fente profonde à la surface d une chose. ⇒ fente, fissure. Crevasse d un mur. ⇒ lézarde. Crevasse dans le sol. ⇒ anfractuosité, cassure, craquelure, 2. faille. « La terre… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Crevasse — is also a traditional term for a levee breach. Crossing a crevasse on the Easton Glacier, Mount Baker, in the North Cascades, Washington A crevasse is a deep crack in an ice sheet rhys glacier (as opposed to a crevice, which forms in rock).… …   Wikipedia

  • crevassé — crevassé, ée (kre va sé, sée) part. passé. Un vieux mur tout crevassé …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • crevasse — CREVASSE. s. f. Fente qui se fait à une chose qui s entr ouvre ou qui se crève. Il y avoit une crevasse à la muraille. La grande sécheresse fait des crevasses à la terre. Avoir des crevasses aux pieds, aux mains. Il n est guère d usage que dans… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • crevasse — 1823, of glaciers; 1814, of riverbanks (from Louisiana Fr.), from Fr. crevasse, from O.Fr. crevace crevice (see CREVICE (Cf. crevice)). Essentially the same word as crevice, but re adopted in senses for which the meaning that had taken hold in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • crevasse — crevasse, crevice are both derived from a Latin root crepare meaning ‘to break with a crash’. A crevasse is a deep open crack or fissure in a glacier; in AmE it is also used to mean a breach in a river embankment. A crevice is a narrow cleft or… …   Modern English usage

  • crevasse — Crevasse. s. f. La fente qui se fait à une chose qui creve. Il y avoit une crevasse à la muraille. la grande secheresse fait des crevasses à la terre. avoir des crevasses aux pieds, des crevasses aux mains. Il n a guere d usage que dans ces… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • crevasse — [krə vas′] n. [Fr < OFr crevace,CREVICE] 1. a deep crack or fissure, esp. in a glacier ☆ 2. a break in the levee of a river, dike, etc. vt. crevassed, crevassing to make a crevasse or crevasses in …   English World dictionary

  • Crevasse — Cre vasse (kr? v?s ), n. [F. See {Crevice}.] 1. A deep crevice or fissure, as in embankment; one of the clefts or fissure by which the mass of a glacier is divided. [1913 Webster] 2. A breach in the levee or embankment of a river, caused by the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Crevasse — (franz., spr. kröwáß), Riß, Spalte, besonders Gletscherspalte …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • crevasse — *crack, cleft, fissure, crevice, cranny, chink Analogous words: chasm, *gulf: *breach, split, rent, rift …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

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