EMH
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- Apr 5, 2021
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(1) Glaciers can form in specific environments, such as polar regions and high elevations, where there's enough cold and moisture for snow to accumulate and compact into ice. During the last Ice Age, Alaska's interior was mostly ice-free due to the balance of temperature and precipitation, which allowed glaciers to only grow in the higher mountains. The north side of the Alaska Range tends to be drier because air can't hold as much moisture as it cools and travels upslope, so rain and snow tend to fall on the south side.
(2) The same reason most of Siberia was ice-free: it was dry. To make glaciers, you don't just need cold, you also need precipitation. In Alaska, the air from the North Pacific loses most of its moisture on the southern mountain ranges. Not enough moisture remained to create glaciers inland from the sea.
(3)
Are there glaciers in the Arctic Circle?
Although the Arctic was not covered by glaciers, there were glaciers in the Brooks Range, and some remain. Glaciers in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve are unique for being entirely north of the Arctic Circle.Jul 29, 2019
Geology - The Arctic (U.S. National Park Service)
PARROTING an article about glaciers does not answer the question....