Pieces of rock held in ice scrape surrounding rock
Ice
Plucked rocks become embedded in the base of the glacier. As the glacier moves, the rocks abrade – scrape and smooth – the surface over which they pass.
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Features of Glacial Erosion 4 Pyramidal peak
5 Arête 1 6
Paternoster lakes
Glaciated valley
Key Words 3 Tarn 2 Cirques
Glaciated valley
Cirque (corrie)
Tarn Arête
7 Truncated spur 8 Hanging valley
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3 4 5 6
7 8
Glaciated valley: A V-shaped valley straightened and flattened by the movement of a large glacier to become a U-shaped valley
Cirque: Also known as a ‘corrie’, a large hollow on the side of a mountain. It has three steep sides and is the birthplace of a glacier.
Tarn: A lake inside a cirque Pyramidal peak: Steep-sided pyramid-shaped mountain that was eroded on all sides by many cirques Arête: A narrow, steep-sided ridge, usually between two cirques
Paternoster lakes: When a long, narrow lake occupies the floor of a glaciated valley, it is called a ribbon lake. When a few ribbon lakes are linked, they are called paternoster lakes.
Truncated spur: Originally an interlocking spur that was eroded, having its ‘head’ cut off as the glacier moved through the valley Hanging valley: A small tributary valley that hangs above the main glaciated valley
