Key Terms: Glacial Landscapes in the UK Flashcards

All 7 cards in this deck

What is freeze-thaw weathering?

Water entering cracks in rock, freezing and expanding, repeatedly widening the crack until the rock shatters.

True or false? Freeze-thaw weathering is a type of erosion.

False. It is weathering — rock is broken down in place, with no movement by ice, water or wind.

What is plucking in glacial erosion?

Meltwater freezing onto rock so that, as the glacier moves, it pulls chunks of rock away from the bedrock.

What is till?

Unsorted material of all shapes and sizes deposited directly by a glacier as it melts.

What is outwash?

Sorted sediment, with the smallest material furthest away, deposited by meltwater streams in front of a glacier.

Why do glaciers deposit their sediment?

Because the ice melts, so it no longer has the energy to carry the material.

What is bulldozing by a glacier?

The glacier pushing loose rock and sediment in front of it as it advances.