Basics--Glacial Landforms Table

Erosional Landforms
Depositional Landforms

Erosional Glacial Landforms
Landform Name	Shape & Characteristics	Scale
cirque	amphitheater or semi-circular bowl shaped feature with steep sides high elevation zones of alpine glaciation formed by alpine glaciation	100s of m to several km across
arête	a sharp jagged ridge separates one cirque or glacial valley from another formed by alpine glaciateion	10s to 1000s of m high, km long
horn	sharp, pointed peak with steep ridges between cirques or glacial valleys formed by alpine glaciation	100s to 1000s of m tall
hanging valley	U-shaped valley that ends abruptly at a dropoff into a larger valley intermediate elevation zones of alpine glaciation formed by alpine glaciation	100s of m to km wide, km to 10s of km long
trough or U-shaped valley	a large, deep valley with a U-shaped profile; may have a flat bottom where filled with glacial sediment intermediate to lower elevation zones of alpine glaciation formed alpine glaciation or continental glaciers that flow in channels through a high mountain range	100s of m to km wide, km to 10s of km long
col	a lowest point or notch in an arrete higher elevation zones of alpine glaciation formed by alpine glaciation	10s to 100s of m deep
roche moutounnée	a rock promontory that is streamlined on the side facing the direction from which the glacier came and abraded the rock, steep on the side toward which the glacier flowed and from which large pieces of rock were plucked located in zones of exposed bedrock at the base of alpine or continental glaciers formed by alpine or continental glaciation	m to 100s of km
tarn	a water-filled depression in the center of a cirque located in higher elevation zones of alpine glaciation formed by alpine glaciation	10s of m to km across
polish	a smooth veneer on the surface of glacially abraded rock can be located on any glacially abraded rock formed by alpine or continental glaciation	mm to cm thick
striations	straight, parallel lines on surface of glacially abraded rock can be located on any glacially abraded rock formed by alpine or continental glaciation	mm to cm wide, cm to 100s m long
furrow	a groove on the surface of glacially abraded rock can be located on any glacially abraded rock formed by alpine or continental glaciation	cm to 10s of m wide, 10s of m to 100s of m long
chatter marks	a flat or scallop-shaped are on glacially abraded rock that ends at a sharply broken edge; the glacier flowed from the direction of the smooth or flat side and to the direction of the sharp edged side can be located on any glacially abraded rock formed by alpine or continental glaciation	cm to m across
facets	flattened faces of rock can be located on any glacially abraded rock formed by alpine or continental glaciation	cm to 100s of m wide

Depositional Glacial Landforms
Landform Name	Shape & Characteristics	Scale
Deposited directly from glacial ice
ground moraine	made of till deposited beneath glacier flat, widespread, may be patchy or discontinuous	m to 10s of m
terminal moraine	made of till deposited at the terminus of a glacier arcuate or lobate for continental glacier(	m to 100s of m tall, 10s of m to km wide, for continental glaciers 1000s km long
recessional moraine	made of till deposited at the terminus of a glacier that retreating for a while arcuate or lobate for continental glacier(	m to 100s of m tall, 10s of m to km wide, for continental glaciers 1000s km long
lateral moraine	made of till deposited between a valley glacier and the side of its valley ridge or bench on side of valley	m to 10s of m tall and wide, may be 10s of m to 10s of km long
medial moraine	made of till deposited between two valley glaciers that joined together as tributaries ridge that parallels length of the glacier	m to 10s of m tall and wide, may be 10s of m to 10s of km long
drumlin	made of till forced into a hollow at the base of a broad glacier moving across flat ground commonly elongate hill with steeper end facing direction from which glacier came, less steep tapering end facing direction to which glacier flowed commonly occur in clusters known as drumlin fields	100s of m to km long, 10s to 100s of m tall, 100s of m wide
Deposited by liquid water associated with a glacier
outwash plain	flat zone filled with bedded sand and gravel sloping away from the terminus of a glacier	100s of m to 10s of km
kettle	bowl shaped depression in glacial outwash or ground moraine, may be partly filled with water forms where a large chunk of ice is left by a retreating glacier	10s of km across
kame	made of outwash, bedded layers of sand and gravel, deposited in contact with glacial ice shapes include mounds and flat-topped hills	10s of m to km wide, m to 10s of m tall
kame terrace	kame deposited as a bench between a melting glacier and a valley side	m to 10s of m tall, m to 100s of m wide, 100s of m to 10s of km long
esker	made of outwash deposited at base of stream flowing in a tunnel beneath a glacier sinuous (curving as a stream channel curves) deposited near terminus of a broad glacier on flat ground	m to 10s of m tall, 10s of m to 100s of m wide, 100s of m to 10s of km long
glacial lake bed	made of mostly of clay and silt deposited in a lake adjacent to a glacier flat plain	100s of m to 10s of km across
Deposited by wind that redeposited glacial outwash
loess	silt piled in a blanket across the landscape may form rounded ridges or hills shaped by windflow	10s of m tall, 10s to 100s of km wide

« Back to TOP

Geology 101 - Introduction to Physical Geology
Basics Table--Glacial Landforms
Created by Ralph L. Dawes, Ph.D. and Cheryl D. Dawes, including figures unless otherwise noted
updated: 7/10/11

Unless otherwise specified, this work by Washington State Colleges is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.