Download Lesson 10 - Glacier Formations

Grade 9 Academic Geography – Strand 3
Glaciation
Pages 43-46 Making Connections
Table 1. Different Glacial Features
Glacial
Feature
How Formed
Appearance
Uses
Striations

rocks frozen in the ice
gouged out grooves in the
bedrock as the glacier
moved

grooves in the bedrock
in the same direction as
the ice movement
Spillways

huge volumes of flowing
glacial meltwater carved
out wide valleys

deep, wide valleys that
now have small rivers
pathway for small rivers
Till Plains

huge amounts of clay,
sand, and gravel
deposited onto the land

gently rolling landscape
or plain
rock fragments have
pointed shapes because
they have not been
rounded by water
very good for crops
because of deep, welldrained soil

Moraines

ice sheets deposited
ridges of till along their
edges

hills with thin soil and
swamps
suited for forestry and
grazing because they are
not very good for crops
Drumlins

molded by the movement
of a glacier

egg-shaped hills that
usually occur in clusters
called drumlin fields
usually good for
agriculture
Erratics

large rocks picked up by
ice sheets and carried
hundreds of kilometres
before being deposited

large rocks, different
from the bedrock of the
region, resting on the
land
Eskers

rivers flowing within or
under melting glaciers laid
down sand and gravel in
the river bed; when
glacier melted, sand and
gravel wash left high and
dry in a ridge

steep-sided ridge of
sand and gravel winding
across the countryside
source of sand and gravel
for construction
Lake Plains

ancient lakes of glacial
meltwater deposited silt
on their flat bottoms

fertile, flat plains of silt
excellent for agriculture