There are many types of glaciers. Three types are ice sheets, ice shelves, and ice caps. Many of the Canadian glaciers are alpine glaciers.

Ice sheets are large sheets of ice that cover more than 50,000 square kilometers. Greenland and Antarctica have ice sheets.

Ice shelves are ice sheets on top of water. They float on water.

Ice caps are small ice sheets – less than 50,000 square kilometers. The term ice caps refers to Continental glaciation and is not applicable to the Canadian alpine glaciers. Iceland has an ice cap.

At one time, glaciers covered all the Maritime provinces. The glaciers were about one kilometer thick.

Over the years, there have been many theories about where the Nova Scotia glaciers came from. Today, it is still not clear. Some researchers believe the glaciers came from close by, in the upland areas of the eastern Arctic. Other researchers believe the glaciers came from Quebec and crossed the Bay of Fundy to get to Nova Scotia.

There has been evidence supporting both theories. Basalt boulders found near Halifax were carried from an area called North Mountain, 130 kilometres away. Because of this, some researchers believe the glaciers came from Quebec and traveled across the Bay of Fundy. Basalt boulders are large rocks made from fine-grained igneous rock.