Glacial Environments

1
Glacial Environments
Two Main Types of Glaciers Exist
Reference Tarbuck and Lutgens Pages 122 - 138
2
Continental Glaciers
3
Valley (Alpine) Glaciers
4
Glacial Features
5
Glacial Deposition Features
6
Glacial Till Deposition Features
Deposition features caused by glaciers include
Moraines (3 Types)
1) Terminal (End) 2) Lateral 3)
Medial

• Marks the farthest advance of the glacier

7
Glacial Till Deposition Features
Deposition features caused by glaciers include
Moraines (3 Types)
1) Terminal (End) 2) Lateral 3)
Medial

• When the glacier melt away, this debris is left
  as ridges along the sides of the valley.

8
Glacial Till Deposition Features
Deposition features caused by glaciers include
Moraines (3 Types)
1) Terminal (End) 2) Lateral 3)
Medial

• Sediment once on the edge of the glaciers now
  merge to form a single ridge of debris.

9
Glacial Till Deposition Features
Deposition features caused by glaciers include
4) Drumlins

• Long, smooth, canoe shaped hills made of till.

• Form when glaciers move over existing drift and
  reshape the material.

• They point in the direction of glacier movement.
  The steep side faces the direction from which
  the ice came and the gentle sloping side points
  in the direction the ice moved.

10
Glacial Till Deposition Features
Deposition features caused by glaciers include
5) Erratics

• Large boulders dropped by glacial ice.

• These boulders are different in composition from
  the underlying bedrock.

• These giant boulders are usually found lying
  free on Earths surface.

11
Stratified Drift Deposition Features
Deposition features caused by glaciers include
6) Outwash Plains

• As the melt water moves away it loses velocity
  and much of the steam load is dropped according
  to sediment size and weight, Thus, it is
  stratified and sorted.

12
Glacial Deposition Features
Deposition features caused by glaciers include
7) Eskers

• Form where water flowing under the glacier
  deposit sediment on the sides of the streams near
  the end of the glacier.