Proglacial lake

Proglacial lake

In geology, a proglacial lake is a lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine or ice dam during the retreat of a melting glacier, or one formed by meltwater trapped against an ice sheet due to isostatic depression of the crust around the ice. At the end of the last ice age approximately 10,000 years ago, large proglacial lakes were a widespread feature in the northern hemisphere.

In some cases, such lakes gradually evaporated during the warming period after the Quaternary ice age. In other cases, such as Glacial Lake Missoula and Glacial Lake Wisconsin in the United States, the sudden rupturing the supporting dam allowed rapid catastrophic floods, resulting in the formation of gorges and other structures downstream from the former lake.

In Great Britain, Lake Lapworth, Lake Harrison and Lake Pickering are examples of proglacial lakes. Ironbridge Gorge is an overspill channel created when the waters of Lake Lapworth rose high enough to breach the lowest point in the southern watershed.

See also

* List of prehistoric lakes
* Pluvial lake
* Proglacial lakes of Minnesota


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  • proglacial lake —    I.    A type of glacial lake which formed just beyond the margin of an advancing or retreating glacier; generally in direct contact with the ice.    Compare: glacial lake, pluvial lake.    GG    II.    [ relict ]    Remnant features of a… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

  • Lake Pickering — was an extensive proglacial lake of the Devensian glacial. It filled the Vale of Pickering between the North York Moors and the Yorkshire Wolds, when the (largely Scandinavian) ice blocked the drainage, which had hitherto flowed north eastwards… …   Wikipedia

  • Lake Maumee — Glacial Lake Maumee was a proglacial lake that was an ancestor of present day Lake Erie. It formed about 14,000 years ago. As the Erie Lobe of the Wisconsin Glacier retreated at the end of the last ice age, it left meltwater in a previously… …   Wikipedia

  • proglacial — (ˈ)prō+ adjective Etymology: pro (I) + glacial : in front of, at, or immediately beyond the margin of a glacier or ice sheet a proglacial lake …   Useful english dictionary

  • Lake Agassiz — was an immense glacial lake located in the center of North America. Fed by glacial runoff at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the present day Great Lakes combined.ConceptionFirst postulated in 1823 by William… …   Wikipedia

  • Proglacial lakes of Minnesota — [ Minnesota, with proglacial lakes added in dark blue.] The proglacial lakes of Minnesota were lakes created in what is now the U.S. state of Minnesota in central North America in the waning years of the last glacial period. As the Laurentide ice …   Wikipedia

  • proglacial — /proʊˈgleɪʃəl/ (say proh glayshuhl) adjective of, relating to, or designating an area of land next to an ice margin; commonly encompassing a lake made from melted glacial water …  

  • Glacial Lake Bassano — was formed in the Late Pleistocene during the deglaciation of south central Alberta by the impoundment of the re established proglacial drainage system and addition of glacial meltwater. It is associated with the development of through flowing… …   Wikipedia

  • Glacial Lake Missoula — Wave cut strandlines cut into the slope at left in photo. These cuts record former high water lines, or shorelines. Gullies above the highway are the result of modern day erosion. (NPS Photo) …   Wikipedia

  • pluvial lake —    I.    A lake formed in an extended period of exceptionally heavy rainfall.    Compare: pluvial lake [ relict ], glacial lake, proglacial lake.    SW & GG    II.    [ relict ]    A lake formed in an extended period of exceptionally heavy… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

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