Many now-familiar glacial landforms were created by the movement of huge sheets of ice called continental glaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch (more commonly called the Ice Age.)

Erosional landforms

As the glaciers expanded, due to their accumulating weight of snow and ice , they crushed and scoured surface rocks and bedrock. The resulting erosional landforms include striations, cirques, and hanging valleys.

Depositional landforms

Later, when the glaciers retreated leaving behind their freight of crushed rock and sand (glacial drift ), they created characteristic depositional landforms. Examples include glacial moraines, eskers, and kames. Drumlins are another landform left behind by retreating glaciers. The stone walls of New England contain many glacial erratics, rocks that were dragged by a glacier many miles from their bedrock origin.

Glacial lakes and ponds

Lakes and ponds can also be caused by glacial movement. Kettle lakes form when a retreating glacier leaves behind an underground chunk of ice. Moraine-dammed lakes occur when a stream (or snow runoff) is dammed by glacial debris.

External links

• Illustrated glossary of alpine glacial landforms
• Landforms of glaciation