A snow field, snowfield or neve is a permanent accumulation of snow and ice, typically found below the snow line. Normally the term is applied to mountainous and glacial terrain. In glaciology, the term refers to areas of permanent snow cover.
Glaciers originate in snowfields. The lower end of a glacier is usually free from snow and névé in summer. In the upper end and above the upper boundary of a glacier, the snow field is in fact an ice field covered with snow. The glacier upper boundary, where it emerges from under a snow field, is ill-defined because of gradual transition.[1]