Landforms of Glacial Erosion

Definition

Landforms produced by the glacial erosion. Glacial erosion occurs in the upper, dominantly accumulation regions beneath the ice of glacierized valleys and ice sheets and ice caps. For detailed description of various aspects, please see the following entries: Glacial Erosion ; Landscapes of Glacial Erosion ; Sediment Entrainment, Transport, and Deposition .

The characteristics of glacially eroded landforms are primarily classified into four main categories of bedrock, topography, glacial processes, and time. Bedrock controls include the actual lithologies themselves, the character and spacing of the joints, the degree of preglacial weathering, and the overall rock structure. Topographic controls of glacial erosion are constituted by the relative relief, the shape of the relief, its alignment in relation to ice flow, and the overall altitudes involved. The morphology of the ice mass and its thickness help to control landform production, as does the direction of the ice flow,...