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Glacial Landforms
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Esker
Eskers are sinuous ridges of gravel and sand that were deposited by meltwater rivers running underneath glaciers or between ice walls.
Aretes
A sharp mountain ridge formed by glacial erosion on either side of a divide. It is common where two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys.
Moraine
Moraines are formed from debris (morainal sediment) deposited by a glacier. Typically seen as accumulations of dirt and rocks that have fallen onto the glacier surface or have been pushed along by the glacier as it moves.
Drumlin
Formed by glacial erosion and deposition, drumlins are streamlined hills composed of glacial till. Their long axis is parallel to the direction of ice movement, with a tapered end pointing downstream.
Tarn
A tarn is a mountain lake that is formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. The basin is filled with water after the ice melts.
Glacial Horn
A pyramidal peak formed when several cirque glaciers erode a mountain from different sides.
Paternoster Lakes
A series of small, circular lakes formed in individual rock basins aligned down a glacial valley. The lakes are strung out like rosary beads and may be connected by a single stream or a chain of streams and waterfalls.
Fjord
A fjord is a deep, glacially carved and steep-walled valley that has been inundated by sea water. These formations are typical where glaciers reached the sea.
Glacial Striations
These are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion. They indicate the direction of glacier movement and are caused by rocks stuck in the base of the glacier grinding against the bedrock.
Kettle
Kettles are formed when blocks of ice calve off a glacier and then become partially or totally buried in glacial deposits. When the ice melts, a depression is left which may fill with water to become a kettle lake.
Hanging Valley
Hanging valleys form when two glaciers with different erosive powers carve adjacent valleys. The smaller valley ends abruptly above the main valley, often creating waterfalls.
Glacial Trough
Glacial troughs, or U-shaped valleys, are created by the erosive action of a glacier widening and deepening a preexisting V-shaped river valley.
Roche Moutonnée
This glacial landform is characterized by a smooth, rounded upstream side and a rough, steep downstream side. It is formed by glacier movement across bedrock, resulting in abrasion on the upstream side and plucking on the downstream side.
Iceberg
Large pieces of freshwater ice that have broken off a glacier or ice shelf and float in open water. They are formed when the glacier advances into the sea or lake and breaks off, a process known as calving.
Cirque
A cirque is a bowl-shaped, steep-walled mountain basin carved by glacier erosion, often found at the head of a glacial valley.
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