Continental Glaciers

Drift: A deposit of snow created by the wind. They resemble sand dunes, and are created and formed in a very similar manner.

Ice Ages: A period of long-time reduction of temperature of the Earth that resulted in expansion of ice sheets.
Drumlin: A whale shaped hill that has been formed by glacial ice acting on underlying till or ground moraine. Its long axis is parallel to the ice with the more blunt end facing the glacial movement.
Esker: A long, winding ridge of gravel and sand which occur often in North America and Europe. Formed in ice wall tunnels by streams that flow under glaciers. They may also form above glaciers when sediment settles in crevices.

Kettle Lake: Shallow, sediment filled body of water that has been formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwater. An example of this is Lake Wilcox in Ontario.

Outwash Plain: A plain formed of sediments deposited by the meltwaters at the end of a glacier. They are most common in Iceland.


Fjords: A long narrow inlet that has steep sides created in a valley that has been carved by glacial activity.