Podcast
Questions and Answers
What is the primary force that causes glacial movement down a mountain?
What is the primary force that causes glacial movement down a mountain?
- Wind erosion
- Human intervention
- Gravitational force (correct)
- Thermal expansion
How are arêtes formed in mountainous regions?
How are arêtes formed in mountainous regions?
- Through the merging of three cirques
- From the erosion of two back-to-back cirques (correct)
- By the accumulation of ice in valleys
- By volcanic activity in the area
What is a characteristic outcome of glacier retreat in coastal regions?
What is a characteristic outcome of glacier retreat in coastal regions?
- Development of delta systems
- Formation of deep lakes
- Creation of fjords (correct)
- Establishment of sand dunes
Which feature is a result of glaciers moving through valleys?
Which feature is a result of glaciers moving through valleys?
What happens to the floor of a cirque as a glacier forms and moves?
What happens to the floor of a cirque as a glacier forms and moves?
Flashcards
Cirque
Cirque
Bowl-shaped depressions in mountains formed by glacial erosion. They are the start of a glacier.
Glacier Formation
Glacier Formation
A mountain glacier that forms in a cirque and flows down the mountainside.
Arête
Arête
Sharp, knife-edge ridges formed when two cirques erode towards each other.
U-shaped Valley
U-shaped Valley
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Fjords
Fjords
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Study Notes
Effects of Glaciation
- Alpine glaciers originate in mountainous regions
- The dramatic landscapes of the Rockies are largely due to glacial erosion
- Snow accumulates in mountain basins, forming cirques
- Snow slowly transforms into ice, driven by gravity
- Glaciers erode the surrounding rock, carrying away rocks
- Glacial ice deepens the cirque floor, steepening its sides.
- When two cirques erode towards each other, they create knife-edged mountain ridges called arêtes
- Multiple arêtes merge to form a pyramidal peak, or horn
- Glaciers flow down mountains, joining larger valley glaciers, carving U-shaped valleys
- Tributary valleys left behind after glacial retreat are called hanging valleys
- These hanging valleys often have the same depth as the main glacial valley
- Coastal flooding of U-shaped valleys by the sea forms long, narrow inlets called fjords, with steep walls.
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