Types of Glacial Deposits

Moraines

• These types of glacial deposits are left after a valley glacier. Lateral moraines are deposits of till that have been shaken loose and parallel an alpine glacier. Glacial till is material that's unsorted and deposited directly by glacial ice. These lateral moraines form ridges along each side of the glacier. Medial moraines form when two lateral moraines merge as two glaciers come together. These medial moraines form on top of glaciers as a sediment line where the two glaciers have met.

End Moraines

• End moraines are sediment deposits that have been carried by the glacier and have settled at the bottom of the glacier. The initial end moraine forms right at the edge of the current glacier. Terminal moraines are a type of end moraine that show the furthest retreat of a glacier. These moraines follow right around the edge of the glacier, showing the glacier's shape at one time. Recessional moraines are between the initial end moraine (right next to the current glacier) and the terminal moraines. A recessional moraine is a small ridge of sediment that shows the glacier's pause as it was retreating.

Ground Moraines

• A ground moraine is a thin layer of till that is deposited as the ice sheet melts. They generally have no ridges and form rolling hills topography. Drumlins are formed with ground moraine sediment. They're rounded ridges that point at the end where the glacier traveled and curve at the other. Drumlins are long, narrow and streamlined hills.

Landforms Left After Retreat of Glacier

• There are several landforms produced after a glacier retreats and sediment is left behind. One example is an outwash which is sediment that has been deposited by the meltwater of a glacier. The till deposits of an outwash are braided and layered. Other land forms include kames which are mounds of stratified till that have been deposited into openings in the ice. Kettles are another example. They're depressions that have occurred because of the melting of buried ice blocks. Eskers are an example of long and winding outwashes. They're well sorted and flow through tunnels and caves that were once at the end of the glacier. The last type of land form are called varves. They represent a year of sediment deposits with light layer that consists of silt and the dark layer consists of organic material and clay.