Glacial Drift

Moraine

A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris, sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sheet. It may consist of partly rounded particles ranging in size from boulders down to gravel and sand, in a groundmass of finely divided clayey material sometimes called glacial flour. Lateral moraines are those formed at the side of the ice flow, and terminal moraines are those formed at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types include ground moraines and medial moraines.

Drift (geology)

In geology, drift is a name for all sediment transported by a glacier and deposited directly by or from the ice, or by glacial meltwater. Drift is often subdivided into unstratified (unsorted) drift that forms moraines and stratified drift that accumulates as stratified and sorted sediments in the form of outwash plains, eskers, kames, varves, and so forth. The term drift clay is a synonym for boulder clay. Both are archaic terms for glacial tills with a fine-grained matrix.

Glacier

A glacier is a persistent body of natural ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by gravity, undergoing both ductile and brittle deformation, and acquiring distinguishing surface features, such as crevasses and seracs. As a glacier moves, it abrades underlying rock and debris to create glacial landforms, such as cirques, moraines, and fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, and can include ice shelves and ice tongues, it originates only on land and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of freezing bodies of water.

glacial drift

Noun

1. An accumulation of glacial till that has been transported by moving ice, land ice, or icebergs.