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Moraines

Piles and ridges of sediment Larry deposited at the edges and front of glaciers are called moraines.

Lateral moraines form along the sides of alpine glaciers.

There is a lot of sediment at the edges of valley glaciers.  When the ice melts the sediment is left in long ridges called lateral moraines. Fjallsjokull, Iceland.

A medial moraine forms where two glaciers join together.

The long thin ridge of sediment shows where two glaciers joined together.  It will form a medial moraine when the glacier melts. Skaftafellsjokull, Iceland.

Moraines are shown as short black lines on the superficial geology map of Norway.

Static map.


Ridges of debris that accumulate at the front of a glacier are called end moraines.

The bumpy ridge of sediment in front of the glacier is an end moraine.  Columbia Icefield, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada. © Abigail Burt

 

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