geography- glaciation

pyramidal peak

When three or more corries cut into the same mountain, a pyramidal peak is formed.

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arete

Corries often develop on more than one side of a mountain. When this happens, the land between them gets narrower until a knife-edged ridge is formed.

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corrie (cirque, cwm)

A deep, steep-sided, rounded or semi-circular hollow, often with a lake, found in glaciated highlands.

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abrasion

Erosion caused by the rubbing and scouring effect of material carried by rivers, glaciers,waves and the wind.

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plucking

A process of glacial erosion by which ice freezes onto weathering rock and, as it moves, pulls pieces of rock with it.

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freeze-thaw

A process of physical weathering by which rock disintergrates due to water in cracks repeatedly freezing and thawing.

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rotational slip

Gravity can cause the ice trapped in the corrie to move. This circular motion is known as rotational slip and can cause the ice to be pulled away from the backwall creating a crevase or a bergschrund.

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rock lip

At the edge of the corrie, where the ice is thinnest, there is less erosion and as a result a rock lip is formed.

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valley glacier

A moving mass of ice in which the movement is confined within a valley. It begins in an upland area and follows the route of a pre-existing river valley.

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hanging valley

The floor of the small tributary valley is eroded more slowely than that of the main valley. When the ice melts, the tributary valley is left hanging above the main valley.

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ribbon lake

As a glacier flows, it flows over soft and hard rock. Softer rock is less resistant, so a glacier will carve a deeper trough. When the glacier has melted water will collect in the deeper area and create a long, thin lake called a ribbon lake.

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u-shaped valley (trough)

Glaciers cut distinctive U-shaped valleys with a flat floor and steep sides. The glacier widens, steepens, deepens and smoothes V-shaped river valleys.

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corrie lake or tarn

When ice in a corrie melts, a circular lake is often formed at the bottom of the hollow.

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truncated spurs

When a river erodes the landscape, ridges of land form in its upper course which jut into the river. These are called interlocking spurs. A glacier cuts through these ridges leaving behind truncated spurs.

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ablation

melting

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accumulation

Permenant snow on the ground

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backwall

The back wall is rough and steep. It forms because of everything else that happens.

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bergschrund

As the glacier moves downslope, different parts move at different speeds and the glacier may split to form a large crevasse called a burgschrund

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lateral moraine

Lateral moraine is caused on the surface of the glacier. It comes from rockfalls on valley slopes. When the ice melts the material is dumped in a long line along the valley sides.

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medial moraine

Medial moraine is found in the centre of the glacier. When dumped, it forms a long, low ridge down the middle of the valley.

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terminal moriane

Terminal moraine is dumped at the end, or snout, of a glacier. It forms an arc-like ridge across the valley, and may be over 100 metres high.

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ground moraine

Ground moraine is material dragged underneath a glacier. when deposited it forms the flat valley floor

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snout

The snout is the lowest end of a glacier. Near the snout of the glacier ice may melt.

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crevasse

A crevasse is a deep open crack. Rotational slip can cause the ice to pull away from the back wall creating a crevasse.

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