Terminal moraine

Terminal moraine

A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a moraine that forms at the end of the glacier called the snout.

Terminal moraines mark the maximum advance of the glacier. An end moraine is at the present boundary of the glacier.

Terminal moraines are one of the most prominent types of moraines in the Arctic. One famous terminal moraine is the Giant's Wall in Norway which, according to legend, was built by giants to keep intruders out of their realm. It is now known that terminal moraines are created at the edge of the greatest extent of the glacier. At this point, the debris that has been accumulated by plucking and abrasion, that has been pushed by the front edge of the ice is driven no farther, but instead is dumped in a heap. Because the glacier acts very much like a conveyor belt, the longer it stays in one place, the greater the amount of material that will be deposited. The moraine is left as the marking point of the terminal extent of the ice.

In North America, the Outer Lands is a name given to the terminal moraine archipelago of the northeast United States (Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Island and Long Island). Other prominent examples of terminal moraines are the Tinley Moraine and the Valparaiso Moraine, perhaps the best examples of terminal moraines in North America. These moraines are most clearly seen southwest of Chicago.

In Europe, virtually all the reliëf in the central Netherlands is made up of an extended terminal moraine. In Switzerland, alpine terminal moraines can be found, one striking example being the moraine at the end of the valley of the glacier Forno in the south-eastern canton of Graubünden near St. Moritz/ Maloja and the Italian border.

ee also

*glacier terminus
*moraine
*postglacial rebound
*outwash plain

External links

* [http://www.d230.org/stagg/profile/palos_hills_geography.htm Physical Geography of Palos Hills]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Terminal moraine — Terminal Ter mi*nal ( nal), a. [L. terminals: cf. F. terminal. See {Term}, n.] 1. Of or pertaining to the end or extremity; forming the extremity; as, a terminal edge. [1913 Webster] 2. (Bot.) Growing at the end of a branch or stem; terminating;… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • terminal moraine — n. see MORAINE …   English World dictionary

  • terminal moraine —    An end moraine that marks the farthest advance of a glacier and usually has the form of a massive arcuate or concentric ridge, or complex of ridges, underlain by till and other drift types.    Compare: end moraine, recessional moraine, ground… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

  • terminal moraine — ter′minal moraine′ n. gel a moraine marking the farthest advance of a glacier or ice sheet • Etymology: 1855–60 …   From formal English to slang

  • terminal moraine — noun : a moraine deposited by a glacier at its end when the ice is at its maximum extent compare end moraine …   Useful english dictionary

  • terminal moraine — Geol. a moraine marking the farthest advance of a glacier or ice sheet. [1855 60] * * * …   Universalium

  • terminal moraine —   are ridges of unconsolidated debris deposited at the snout or end of the glacier …   Geography glossary

  • terminal moraine —    A glacial deposit accumulated in front of a glacier [16] …   Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology

  • terminal moraine — /tɜmənəl məˈreɪn/ (say termuhnuhl muh rayn) noun a ridge of unconsolidated debris deposited at the end of a glacier …  

  • Terminal — Ter mi*nal ( nal), a. [L. terminals: cf. F. terminal. See {Term}, n.] 1. Of or pertaining to the end or extremity; forming the extremity; as, a terminal edge. [1913 Webster] 2. (Bot.) Growing at the end of a branch or stem; terminating; as, a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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