snowfield

American  

[snoh-feeld] / ˈsnoʊˌfild /

noun

Geology.

1. a large and relatively permanent expanse of snow.

---

snowfield British  

/ ˈsnəʊˌfiːld /

noun

1. a large area of permanent snow

---

snowfield Scientific  

/ snō′fēld′ /

1. A large expanse of snow, usually with a smooth and uniform surface, and especially at the head of a glacier.

---

Etymology

Origin of snowfield

First recorded in 1835–45; snow + field

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

snowfield

Upon learning of a red snowfield in the Swiss Alps, the American Naturalist reported that a Mr. Shuttleworth “betook himself thither” with his microscope and declared the color due to tiny animalcules.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

Above the Swiss village of Saas Fee, a path leading to a mountain hut once passed through a summer snowfield on top of the Chessjen Glacier.

From Reuters ● Jul. 26, 2022

The descent is virtually no-fall terrain involving four 60-meter rappels over the ice pitches and a traverse of a short-hanging snowfield.

From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2021

We walked to the edge of a snowfield and wandered between the few, weather-stunted trees.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 29, 2021

A shaggy beard covered his cheeks and neck, but the hair would not grow over the scar, so a shiny seam of puckered, twisted flesh divided his face like a crevasse through a snowfield.

From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin