Glaciers, Caves, & Meandering Streams

Moraines

General term for unstratified and unsorted DEPOSITS of sediment that form through the direct action of, or contact with, glacier ice.

Tills

A heterogeneous mixture of different sized material deposited by moving ice or by the melting in-place of stagnant ice.

Outwash

Deposit of sand and gravel carried by running water from the melting ice of a glacier and laid down in stratified deposits

Erratics

A rock of unspecified shape and size, transported a significant distance from its origin by a glacier or iceberg and deposited by melting of the ice.

Kettles

A depression that forms in an outwash plain or other glacial deposit by the melting of an in-situ block of glacier ice that was separated from the retreating glacier-margin and subsequently buried by glacier sedimentation.

U-shaped valley

The shape of a valley formed by the erosion of a glacier

V-Shaped valley

A valley characterized by a narrow, V-like profile, formed primarily by the erosive action of rivers.

Outside of a curve

in a meandering stream where the water flows faster, causing erosion of the bank.

Inside of a curve

in a meandering stream where the water flows slower, leading to sediment deposition and the formation of point bars.

Karst Topography

A landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, characterized by features like sinkholes, caves, and underground rivers.