How do cirque glaciers differ from valley glaciers?

Cirque glaciers and valley glaciers are closely related, as a valley glacier often originates within a cirque. However, they differ primarily in their scale and extent:1

• Cirque Glaciers: These are smaller, localized glaciers that occupy the amphitheatre-shaped cirque basin at the head of a mountain valley. They are often the initial form of ice during the growth of a glacier or the final remnant during its retreat. Their primary geomorphic role is the scouring of the basin floor, which may later contain a tarn.23
• Valley Glaciers: These are larger, more extensive bodies of ice that flow downward from a cirque or a plateau ice cap, moving between the walls of a glacial valley. Unlike cirque glaciers, which are confined to the headwall basin, valley glaciers extend down the valley, drastically reshaping the landscape by eroding the valley walls and floor to create a characteristic U-shaped profile.13

In essence, a cirque glacier is a confined, head-of-valley feature, while a valley glacier is the larger, flowing system that occupies and carves the valley itself.13