It has been suggested that Coombe be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

This article is about the geographical feature. For other uses, see Corrie (disambiguation).

A corrie on Ben Lui in Scotland

In geography, a corrie is a terrain feature created by glaciation in high mountains. The word is an anglicisation of the Gaelic word coire meaning hollow. It is known in Welsh as a cwm (often Anglicized as coomb or coombe), and the French word cirque is used to denote a very similar geographical feature. Image File history File links Please see the file description page for further information. ... A coombe or (variant spellings) coomb, combe or cwm is a short valley or hollow on a hill or coastline. ... A corrie is a geographical feature. ...  ©  This image is copyrighted. ...  ©  This image is copyrighted. ... Beinn Laoigh (the name is sometimes anglicised to Ben Lui or Ben Laoigh) is a peak of the southern highlands of Scotland. ... A glaciation (a created composite term meaning Glacial Period, referring to the Period or Era of, as well as the process of High Glacial Activity), often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... Goidelic is one of two major divisions of modern-day Celtic languages (the other being Brythonic). ... Welsh redirects here, and this article describes the Welsh language. ... To anglicise (or in North American English anglicize) is to adapt a foreign word into the English language, often modifying its form to correspond to standard English French demoiselle, meaning little lady. Another common type of anglicisation is the inclusion of a foreign article as part of a noun (eg. ... Coomb may refer to: Coomb, a rare Celtic Brythonic survival word; meaning a small deep dry valley, easily defended. ... A cirque is an amphitheatre-like valley of glacial origin, formed by glacial erosion at the head of the glacier. ...

The formation of a corrie

Corries begin as small hollows on a relatively smooth slope. A hollow is loose name for a valley in the earth. ...

Snow and ice gathering in these hollows eroded the floor and walls of the hollow, causing them to get larger and deeper. As the hollows grew they gathered more snow and ice which would compact into a small glacier. Eventually, the newly formed glacier cut through the lowest edge of the hollow and continued. Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and other particles) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ... Aletsch glacier, Switzerland A glacier is a large, long-lasting river of ice that is formed on land and moves in response to gravity. ...

Due to the bowl shape of the corrie, water often gathers in corries forming a small loch known as a corrie lochan or tarn. View across Loch Lomond, towards Ben Lomond. ... A tarn (or corrie loch) is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a valley excavated by a glacier or corrie. ...

The difference between corrie and cirque

The corrie is geologically similar to the French cirque. However, where a corrie is an almost complete bowl beyond which the hill generally slopes quite steeply away, a cirque can also be found at the head of a deep, wide U-shaped valley with a relatively flat floor. A cirque is an amphitheatre-like valley of glacial origin, formed by glacial erosion at the head of the glacier. ... Bowl could relate to any of these : bowl - a vessel bowl - an unevenly-weighted black-coloured ball used to hit the jack in the game of bowls bowl - in cricket, the action of bowling performed by a bowler Super Bowl - the championship game of the National Football League bowl games... A glaciated valley in the Mount Hood Wilderness showing a characteristic U-shape and the broad shoulders Schematic cross section of an quarterny Alpine valley. ...

Related glacial features

Two corries formed close to each other can erode the separating rock until it forms a knife-edged ridge known as an arête. This article is about a glacial landform. ...

When three or more corries are formed around the summit of a mountain, they can form a horn or pyramidal peak. In some cases, this peak will be made accessible by one or more arêtes. The Matterhorn in the European Alps is a fine example. A glacial horn (or, if unambiguous from context, simply a horn) is a mountain formed by glacial erosion. ... This article is about a glacial landform. ... The Matterhorn (Fr. ... The West face of the Petit Dru above the Chamonix valley near the Mer de Glace. ...

See also

• The Corries, a Scottish folk band named after the geographical feature

The Corries were a Scottish folk group which emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. ...

External links

• Photographs and case study of corrie glacier