Identification of Glacial Landforms

Cerritos College Department of Earth Science On-Line Tutorial Center

Answers to page 1

1.  What type of glacier is this?  (hint: you should be able to distinguish two types of glaciers)  This is an example of an alpine or valley glacier.  These glaciers form in mountainous areas well above sea level, and flow down hill under the pull of gravity.  Note the wide U-shaped valley which this glacier has carved.

2.  Is the ridge at location A composed of bedrock or sediment?  Sediment.  When you are  practicing identification of glacial landforms it's important to distinguish depositional landforms (which are composed of sediment) from erosional landforms carved out of bedrock.

3.  Name the specific landforms at locations A, B and C:

• A: End moraine
• B: Lateral moraine
• C: Medial moraine

4.  Which of the following is clearly visible in this picture?

a) Headwall  b) Fjord  c) Terminus   d) Firn line  e) Ice Shelf

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