3.4 UPLAND GLACIAL LANDFORMS (formed by deposition)
moraine - Moraine
means 'rock waste'.It is also known as glacial till or boulder
clay. There are four types of moraine (see Diagrams 3.4a and
3.4b). ie
ground moraine
lateral moraine
medial moraine
terminal moraine
Diagram 3.4a Lateral and medial moraines
lateral moraine
description - This is a ridge of rock waste found along
the side of the floor of a u - shaped valley.
explanation - This is material which has either been plucked
from the rock at the side of a glacier or has fallen onto the
ice as a result of frost shattering. When the ice melts this
is deposited as a ridge on the valley floor.
diagram - Examine Diagram 3.4a.
medial moraine
description - This is a ridge of rock waste found along
the middle of the floor of a u - shaped valley.
explanation - When two glaciers meet, two lateral moraines
unite to form a medial moraine.
diagram - Examine Diagram 3.4a. A medial moraine would
appear the same as the lateral moraine except that it would run
along the 'centre' of the valley floor.
ground moraine
description - This feature appears as a gently undulating
cover of the landscape.
explanation - This is laid down as a layer of rock waste
(broken rock fragments in a clay matrix) beneath an ice sheet
or a glacier.
diagram - Examine Diagram 3.4b.
terminal moraine
description - This is a ridge of rock waste found across
the floor of a u-shaped valley.
explanation - When a glacier or an ice sheet loses its
power to transport its load, then this is deposited as a ridge
across the valley or the landscape (the ridge of hills down the
spine of Denmark is a terminal moraine from the Scandanavian
Ice Sheet ...see Map Diagram 3.5d. The formation of an outwash
plain )
diagram - Examine Diagram 3.4b.
Diagram 3.4b Ground and terminal moraines
esker
description - This is a meandering ridge if sand and gravel.
explanation - This feature is formed of sand and gravel
deposited on the bed of a river flowing beneath the ice.
diagram - Examine Diagram 3.4c.
kames
description - These are mounds of sorted debris.
explanation - These are formed in a number of ways. They
are formed as a result of deposition of sediments in deltas or
stream beds in lakes or rivers at the ice margin.
diagram - Examine the diagram below.
Diagram 3.4c Eskers and kames
