Physical Geography Ch 17
Order by
32 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 glacier | a slowly moving mass of ice |
| firn | compact granular substance that is the transition stage betweens snow and glacial ice |
| Zone of accumulation | The part of a glacial system where snow and ice are accumulating faster than they are melting away. |
| zone of ablation | The part of a glacier where melting exceeds snow accumulation |
| equilibrium line | the place on a glacier where snow accumulation and melting are in balance |
| internal deformation | Where ice crystals move by orientating themselves in the direction of ice movement allowing the crystals to move past one another |
| velocity | distance travelled per unit time |
| crevasses | a deep crack in a glacier |
| piedmont glacier | valley glacier that extends entirely out into the lowland beyond the mountain front |
| tide water glacier | valley glaciers that terminate at the ocean |
| valley glacier | glacier that flows in a steep-sided valley |
| calving | when a large block of ice breaks off the front of a tidewater glacier |
| continental glaciers | an enormous body of flowing ice that covers a significant part of a landmass |
| striations | scratches in rock produced by a glacial abrasion |
| plucking | an erosional process by which rocks are pulled out of the ground by a glacier |
| grooves | deep furrows in rock produced by glacial abrasion |
| roche mountonnee | a landform produced by a glacial abrasion and plucking that has a shallow slope on one side and a steep slope on the other side |
| tarn | a small lake that forms within a glacial cirque |
| horn | a mountain with three or more aretes on its flanks |
| glacial trough | a deep u shaped valley carved by an alpine glacier |
| hanging valley | an elevated u shaped valley with respect to a glacial trough formed by a tributary alpine glacier |
| moraine | a winding ridge like feature that forms at the front or side of a glacier or between two glaciers |
| kame | a large mound of sediment deposited along the front of a slowly melting or stationary glacier |
| esker | a winding ridge formed by a stream that flows beneath a glacier |
| kettle | a lake that forms when a block of ice falls off the glacial front is buried by glacial drift and then melts forming a depression that fills with water |
| outwash plain | a broad landscape of limited relief created by the deposition of glacial outwash |
| glacial drift | sediment deposited indirectly or directly by a glacier |
| glacial till | sediment deposited directly by a glacier |
| drumlin | a streamlined landform created when a glacier deforms previously deposited till |
| permafrost | ground that is permanently frozen |
| pingo | where intrusive ice bulges upward to 60 m |
| patterned ground | periglacial landscape that has evolved into distinctive shapes usually polygons that form when frost action prudentially brings coarser materials to the surface |
First Time Here?
Welcome to Quizlet, a fun, free place to study. Try these flashcards, find others to study, or make your own.