Landforms of Glacial Erosion Flashcards

All 8 cards in this deck

What is a corrie?

An armchair-shaped hollow high on a mountainside with a steep back wall and a rock lip; it may contain a tarn.

True or false? In the UK, corries most often face south.

False. They usually face north or north-east, where there is least direct sunshine so snow can build up.

What is an arête?

A narrow, knife-edge ridge formed where two corries erode back to back.

What is a pyramidal peak?

A sharp-pointed mountain summit formed where three or more corries erode back into the same mountain.

What is a truncated spur?

A former interlocking spur of a river valley that has been cut off and steepened by the glacier moving straight down the valley.

What are the characteristics of a glacial trough (U-shaped valley)?

Steep sides, a wide flat valley floor and a U-shaped cross profile.

What is a ribbon lake?

A long, relatively narrow lake occupying a glacial trough, where the ice eroded a deeper hollow in the valley floor.

What is a hanging valley?

A shallow tributary valley left high above the floor of the main glacial trough; a river in it plunges as a waterfall.