How does the water get into glaciers and snowfields?
If there is leftover snow each year, snowfields will form and the snowfields may turn into glaciers. How does a place wind up with leftover snow?—It has to receive more snow than melts away every year!

How long does water spend in glaciers and snowfields?
On average, a drop of water stays in snow for 150 days and a drop of water stays in a glacier for 40 years.

How does water get out of glaciers and snowfields?
The snow and ice melt, turning back into water, which flows away in streams and rivers or soaks into the ground. Some of the frozen water turns into water vapor gas and goes into the atmosphere in a process called sublimation.