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How do rock glaciers form in high mountain regions?

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esker: Nunavut — glacial landform Eskers, or narrow ridges of gravel and sand left by a retreating glacier, wind through western Nunavut, Canada, near the Thelon River.

Rock glaciers form in high mountain regions through the accumulation of coarse rock fragments, often originating from talus deposits at the base of steep slopes.12

In these high-altitude environments, the interior of thick talus accumulations can remain at temperatures below freezing year-round. When rain or meltwater percolates into the spaces between these rock fragments, it freezes, filling the pore space with ice. When sufficient ice accumulates, the entire mass of rock and ice becomes mobile, moving slowly downslope in a lobate, tonguelike form that resembles a glacier.21

The movement of a rock glacier is generally attributed to the flowage of this interstitial ice or through frost-induced surface creep. In some instances, these features may also represent the final retreat stages of valley glaciers that have become buried under thick layers of talus.12