Moraine refers to any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past ice age. This debris may have been plucked off the valley floor as a glacier advanced or fallen off the valley walls as a result of frost wedging. Moraines may be composed of silt like glacial flour to large boulders. The debris is typically angular. Moraines may be on the glacier’s surface or deposited as piles or sheets of debris where the glacier has melted. Moraines may also occur when glacier or iceberg transported rocks fall into the sea as the ice melts. Moraine, rock debris transported by glaciers Moraine Valley Community College, a community college in Palos Hills, Illinois Moraine, Ohio, a city in Ohio, USA Moraine State Park, in Pennsylvania Moraine Lake, a lake in Banff National Park, Canada Category: ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... Plucking, in the sense relating to glaciers, is when a glacier erodes away chunks of bedrock to be later deposited as erratics. ... This article is about the geological formation. ... Weathering is the process of breaking down rocks, soils and their mineral through direct contact with the atmosphere. ... Rock flour consists of clay sized particles of rock generated by glacial erosional actions. ... Icebergs at Cape York, Greenland Iceberg at Cape York, Greenland Iceberg, Témpanos, Patagonia, Argentina. ...

Moraine at Mono Lake, California, United States

Image File history File links Moraines. ... Image File history File links Moraines. ... Mono Lake is an alkaline and hypersaline lake in California, United States that is a critical nesting habitat for several bird species and is one of the most productive ecosystems in North America[citation needed]. // Satellite photo of Mono Lake Mono Craters to the right of the image are rhyolitic... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Types of moraines

Lateral moraines

Moraines clearly seen on a side glacier of the Gorner Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland. The lateral moraine is the high snow-free bank of debris in the top left hand quarter of the picture. The medial moraine is the double line of debris running down the centre-line of the glacier.

Lateral moraines are parallel ridges of till deposited along the sides of an alpine glacier. The unconsolidated debris is deposited on top of the glacier by frost shattering of the valley walls and from tributary streams flowing into the valley. The till is carried along the glacial margin until the glacier melts. Because lateral moraines are deposited on top of the glacier, they do not experience the postglacial erosion of the valley floor and therefore, as the glacier melts, lateral moraines are usually preserved as high ridges. Lateral moraines stand high because they protect the ice under them from the elements, which causes it to melt or sublime less than the uncovered parts of the glacier. Multiple lateral moraines may develop as the glacier advances and retreats. Lateral moraine on a glacier joining the Gorner Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland. ... Lateral moraine on a glacier joining the Gorner Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... In June, the Matterhorn is still snow-covered, while it is spring in Zermatt below. ... Glacial till with tufts of grass Till is an unsorted glacial sediment. ... Weathering is the process of decomposition and/or disintegration of rocks and their minerals in situ, that is, in place. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Medial moraines

Medial moraines are formed when the inside lateral moraines of two glaciers merge together. They form a ridge down the center of the combined glaciers. Like lateral moraines, medial moraines form on top of the glacier. However, medial moraines do not have a constant source of debris, like the valley walls of lateral moraines, so they usually result in relatively smaller landforms when the glacier melts.

Ground moraines

Ground moraine makes an irregular, rolling topography

Ground moraines are till covered areas with irregular topography and no ridges often forming gently rolling hills or plains. It is accumulated under the ice by lodgement, but may also be deposited as the glacier retreats. ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1333, 886 KB) Ground moraine near Gainesville, New York Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 03:55, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (2000x1333, 886 KB) Ground moraine near Gainesville, New York Image copyleft: Image taken by me, released under GFDL Pollinator 03:55, Nov 9, 2004 (UTC) ( ) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert...

End or terminal moraines

End moraines or terminal moraines are ridges of unconsolidated debris deposited at the snout or end of the glacier. They usually reflect the shape of the glacier's terminus. Glaciers act much like a conveyor belt carrying debris from the top of the glacier to the bottom where it deposits it in end moraines. End moraine size and shape is determined by whether the glacier is advancing, receding or at equilibrium. The longer the terminus of the glacier stays in one place the more accumulation there will be. There are two types of end moraines, terminal and recession moraines. Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. Recessional moraines are small ridges left as a glacier pauses during its retreat. After a glacier retreats the end moraine may be destroyed by postglacial erosion. Moraine is the general term for debris of all sorts originally transported by glaciers or ice sheets that have since melted away. ... A glacial terminus Satellite view of changing glacier termini in the Bhutan-Himalaya. ...

See also

• Glacial landforms
• List of landforms
• Drumlin
• Esker
• Gettlinge
• Tarn
• Moraine-dammed lake
• Geomorphology

Many now-familiar glacial landforms were created by the movement of huge sheets of ice called continental glaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch (more commonly called the Ice Age. ... A landform comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. ... Drumlin in Cato, New York Drowned drumlin in Clew Bay Drumlin at Withrow Moraine and Jameson Lake Drumlin Field National Natural Landmark A drumlin (Irish droimnín, a little hill ridge) is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial action. ... A part of the Mason Esker Esker in Sims Corner Eskers and Kames National Natural Landmark, Washington state. ... Viking stone ship at Gettlinge, Öland, Sweden. ... Triad Lake in Glacier Peak Wilderness View of Tarn Hows, Cumbria A tarn (or corrie loch) is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a corrie excavated by a glacier. ... A moraine-dammed lake occurs when a terminal moraine has prevented some meltwater from leaving the valley. ... Surface of the Earth Geomorphology is the study of landforms, including their origin and evolution, and the processes that shape them. ...

References

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Moraine

• Easterbrook, D. J. (1999) Surface processes and landforms. (Second Ed). Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.