Glacier table. Large rock (glacier table) on the surface of the Argentiere Glacier in the French Alps. Such rocks are called glacier tables because they shield the ice below from the sun, resulting in the ice 'legs' on which they stand. This glacier flows some nine kilometres from its source towards the valley of Chamonix valley, terminating near the village of Argentiere. Glaciers can be sensitive to climate change and this glacier is among those that in which rapid retreat (loss of ice) has been observed.