Updated By: LatestGKGS Desk
Geography: Glacial Landforms, Erosional and Depositional
Geography: Depositional Land Forms of Glacier, Erosional Landforms of Glacier
The land-forms which are created due to the action of glaciers are called glacial landforms. The glacial landforms can be of two types on the basis of its formation viz Erosional landforms like Cirques, horns, arete, U-Shaped valley, hanging valley, etc and depositional landforms include moraines, eskers, drumlins, etc.
There can be the 3rd form of landforms that is developed due to the transportation activities of glaciers like glacial lake and ponds.
Erosional Landforms of Glacier:
Glacial erosion consists of two processes: (i) plucking or the tearing away of blocks of rock which have become frozen into the base and sides of a glacier, and (ii) abrasion or the wearing away of rocks beneath a glacier by the scouring action of the rocks embedded in the glacier.
Depositional Land Forms of Glacier
a) Moraine – debris deposited by a glacier is called moraine, are of three main types:
b) Drumlins (Irish): A hill of glacial till moraines, elliptical in shape is called drumlin.
c) Esker: Long, narrow ridges, composed of stratified sand, silt, and gravel are called eskers.
d) Kame: small alluvial cones or small alluvial deltas are called Kame.