Glaciers and Processes Affecting Landscapes

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to glaciers and their impact on landscape formation.

Erosion

The process of wearing away the landscape, including abrasion and plucking in glacial landscapes.

Abrasion

The process where rocks and stones scrape along the glacier bed and sides, causing scratches in the rock known as striations.

Plucking

The process where ice in the glacier freezes around rocks and stones underneath it and then plucks them out as it moves downhill.

Freeze-thaw weathering

A weathering process where water enters cracks in rocks, freezes, expands, and eventually breaks off chunks of rock.

Transportation

The process in which sediment is carried by glacial movement, which includes rocks falling into crevasses or being frozen into the base of the glacier.

Deposition

The process where material carried by the glacier is dropped at the spout (end) of the glacier when it melts.