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Moraine-Mound Complexes

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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

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Definition

A chaotically arranged or apparently disorganized assemblage of morainic mounds and ridges forming hummocky topography.

Synonyms

Disintegration moraine; Hummocky moraine (not recommended, as there are now genetic connotations associated with this term)

Description

Ice margin hummocks on Earth 1–50 m high, 10–300 m wide, with slopes 1–25° (Payne and Farmer 2003 and references therein). They consist of chaotic hummocks and enclosed kettle hollows and are sometimes underlain by till (Boone and Eyles 2001). In valley situations, the hummocks and ridges may correlate across valley forming crescentic or arcuate loops (Figs. 1 and 2).

Fig. 1
figure 1

View of the moraine-mound complexes in Coire Ardair, near Glen Roy, Scotland, United Kingdom. (a) Oblique view of the southern valley slope looking up-valley. Ridge-like elements and cross-valley moraines can be seen. For scale, the river is approximately 10 m wide. (b) Direct view of the southern valley slope (Photographs by John P. Balfour)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Glaciology Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK

    John P. Balfour

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  1. John P. Balfour
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Correspondence to John P. Balfour .

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Balfour, J.P. (2014). Moraine-Mound Complexes. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_191-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_191-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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