Glaciated Landscapes Key Terms features Flashcards
Tarn
A deep, circular lake, filling a cirque hollow.
Ice Age
A period of colder climate when ice sheets form on the land, causing a lowering of sea level
Glaciated Valley
A river valley, that. is widened/deepened by the action of glaciers.
Glacier
A sheet of ice that moves slowly down a river valley under the influence of gravity.
Plucking
Type of erosion where melted water in a glacier freezes onto rocks, and as the glacier moves forward, it plucks or pulls out large pieces along the rock joints.
Interglacial
A warmer period of weather between ice ages, lasting about 10,000 years.
Freeze - thaw weathering
In cold climates near freezing, frost-shattering occurs when water freezes in rock cracks, expanding and breaking off pieces.
Cirque
Armchair - shaped hollow in the mountainside formed by glacial erosion. Where valley glacier begins.
Sea level changes
Changes in sea level against the land are caused by either the building up of melting of polar ice caps, or by rising and falling land levels.
Abrasion
Erosion caused by rocks & boulders in the base of the glacier acting like a giant file scratching and. scraping the rocks below.
Ice Sheet
Huge mass of ice covering landscapes that moves very slowly. Only. mountain peaks petrude above the ice.
Snowline
The altitude where permanent snow begins in mountainous regions.
Weathering
Break down/decomposition. of rock by biological, physical or chemical processes.
Physical Weathering
Disintegration of rock into smaller pieces without chemical change in the rock.
Erosion
Wearing away of the land by rivers, ice sheets, waves, and wind.
