Fluvioglacial Landscapes Flashcards
What are fluvioglacial processes? (Mention 3 facts)
• Meltwater flows subglacially, englacially, or supraglacially.
• High-pressure meltwater can erode channels under the ice.
• Meltwater carries large amounts of sediment, often appearing cloudy.
How do glacial and fluvioglacial deposits differ? (Mention 3 things)
• Glacial deposits: Unsorted, unstratified, and randomly aligned.
• Fluvioglacial deposits: Sorted, stratified, and aligned by water flow.
• Fluvioglacial deposits show grading, with smaller sediment transported further.
What are eskers, and how do they form? (Mention 3 things)
• Long, sinuous ridges of sand and gravel, up to 100m high and several km long.
• Formed by subglacial, englacial, or supraglacial meltwater streams depositing sediment.
• When the ice melts, the sediment remains, forming the ridge.
What are kames and kame terraces?
• Kames: Irregular mounds of sand and gravel deposited at the edges of glaciers.
• Kame terraces: Deposits along valley sides, forming benches of sediment.
What are meltwater channels, and how do they form?
• Erosional channels carved by streams draining away from the ice margin.
• Often form braided river systems as sediment is deposited.
What are kettle holes? (1 fact and 1 example)
• Small circular lakes formed by the melting of buried ice blocks left behind by retreating glaciers.
- Example: Found in North Cheshire, visible from planes taking off from Manchester Airport.
What are proglacial lakes?
• Lakes that form in front of an ice mass due to meltwater accumulation.
What is a sandur, and how does it form? (give 2 facts and 1 example)
• A large, sandy outwash plain formed by meltwater rivers depositing sediment.
• Braided meltwater streams transport and deposit sediment, with larger materials settling first.
- Example: Coastal Iceland has extensive sandur plains.
