How Glaciation Shapes The Land
How Glaciation Shapes The Land
Items in this lesson
How Glaciation Shapes The Land
Open with the idea that ice may seem still, but glaciers are powerful moving systems that reshape whole landscapes over long periods.
When you think of a giant mass of ice moving across the land, what words come to mind?
Use this to surface prior knowledge and misconceptions. Expect words such as ice, glacier, valley, erosion, cold, mountain, and snow.
What is glaciation?
Glaciation is the process by which moving ice shapes the land
It happens where snow builds up, compacts into ice, and forms glaciers
Over time, glaciers erode, move, and deposit rock and sediment
Keep the definition geographical: glaciation is not just the presence of ice, but the landscape change caused by glacier movement.
The three key processes
Erosion - ice wears away rock
Transportation - ice carries rock and sediment
Deposition - ice drops material when it melts or loses energy
These three processes explain most glacial landforms.
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How glacier ice moves
Gravity pulls ice downhill
Ice flows slowly rather than staying fixed
As it moves, it drags debris over the ground and against valley sides
Students often imagine glaciers as static. Emphasise that even very slow movement can reshape land over thousands of years.
How ice reshapes land
Snow builds up → ice forms → glacier moves downhill → rock is eroded and transported → sediment is deposited elsewhere
Glaciated landscapes are the result of this long chain of change.
Use this slide to tie process to landscape outcome before moving into named landforms.
Which process happens when ice drops material it was carrying?
Transportation
Deposition
Erosion
Compaction
Checks the three key processes from slides 2 to 5. Compaction is plausible because snow compacts into ice, but it is not one of the three landscape-shaping processes here.
Complete the process chain
During glaciation, snow builds up and forms a glacier. Gravity pulls the ice downhill, where it can erode rock, carry sediment by transportation, and finally leave material behind by deposition.
All blanks are load-bearing terms from the opening process explanation.
Erosional landforms
Formed where moving ice removes rock
Usually found in upland areas once covered by glaciers
They often have steep sides, sharp edges, and over-deepened hollows
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U-shaped valleys
A glacier widens and deepens a river valley
The result is a broad valley floor with steep sides
This gives the valley its clear U shape
Contrast briefly with a V-shaped river valley if helpful, but keep the main focus on glacier erosion.
Corries
A corrie is a bowl-shaped hollow high on a mountainside
Ice erodes the hollow by scraping and plucking rock
After the ice melts, a small lake may remain in the basin
If students know another term such as cirque, note that corrie is the term commonly used in UK geography.
Arêtes and pyramidal peaks
An arête is a narrow, sharp ridge between two corries or glacial valleys
A pyramidal peak forms where several corries erode back into one mountain
Both are created by strong erosion in high mountain areas
The key distinction is scale: an arête is a ridge, while a pyramidal peak is the pointed summit left between several corries.
Hanging valleys
A smaller tributary glacier erodes less deeply than the main glacier
After the ice melts, the side valley is left higher than the main valley
Water often falls from it as a waterfall
This is a good moment to reinforce that different glacier sizes produce different depths of erosion.
Which landform is a narrow sharp ridge between two corries?
Hanging valley
Pyramidal peak
Arête
U-shaped valley
Tests distinction between ridge, summit, and valley landforms from slides 6 to 10.
Complete the erosional landforms summary
A glacier can turn a river valley into a U-shaped valley with steep sides. A corrie is a bowl-shaped hollow high on a mountainside. Where several corries erode back into one mountain, a pyramidal peak may form. A tributary glacier can leave a hanging valley above the main valley.
Reinforces the named erosional landforms using the exact terms taught.
Why is a hanging valley left above the main valley?
Expected elements: a main glacier erodes more deeply than a smaller tributary glacier; after melting, the side valley is left higher than the main valley; waterfalls are often found there.
Depositional landforms
Formed when glaciers lose energy and drop their load
The material deposited is often called till
Depositional landforms show where ice once carried large amounts of debris
Keep the term till simple: unsorted material dropped directly by ice.
Moraines
Moraines are ridges of rock and sediment left by a glacier depositing
They build up at the sides, middle, or end of the ice
They mark where a glacier moved or where it once reached
You can mention lateral, medial, and terminal moraine if needed, but the slide only requires the general idea of ridge-shaped deposits.
Drumlins
Drumlins are long, oval hills made of deposited till
They are shaped by moving ice
They often appear in groups, showing the direction of glacier flow
Emphasise their smooth elongated shape and link them to ice movement across lowland areas.
Erratics
An erratic is a large rock carried by ice and dropped far from its source
It often looks different from the local rock around it
Erratics are useful evidence of past glacier movement
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Which landform is evidence of deposition rather than erosion?
Corrie
Arête
Moraine
Hanging valley
Checks the shift from erosional to depositional landforms. Only moraine is a depositional feature here.
Which depositional landform would best show where a glacier once reached?
Moraine
Drumlin
Erratic
Corrie
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Past and present glaciated areas
Present glaciated areas still have active glaciers today
Past glaciated areas were shaped by ice in colder periods, but the glaciers have gone
Both can show glacial landforms, but only one still has moving ice
This distinction is simple but important: landscape evidence can remain long after glaciers disappear.
The Lake District
The Lake District is a past glaciated area
Its valleys and corries were shaped during earlier cold periods
Today, glaciers are no longer present, but the landforms remain clearly visible
Use this as a familiar UK example of a landscape that preserves strong glacial evidence without modern glaciers.
The Scottish Highlands
The Scottish Highlands are also a past glaciated area
Many glens, corries, and sharp ridges were formed by ice
The region shows how powerful glaciation has been in shaping upland Britain
If needed, note that Britain has no major active glaciers today, so these examples help distinguish past glaciation from present-day glacier regions elsewhere in the world.
Why is the Lake District described as past glaciated?
It has active glaciers
It has volcanic peaks
Its ice is underground
Its glaciers have gone
Checks the distinction between past and present glaciated areas using the UK example.
What shows these UK areas were shaped by glaciers?
Expected elements: both areas were shaped by ice in colder periods; glacial landforms remain visible; there are no major active glaciers there today; examples may include corries, glens, U-shaped valleys, and sharp ridges.
How confident do you feel with the evidence and processes of glaciation?
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Glossary 1
glaciation - the shaping of land by moving ice
erosion - the wearing away of rock by ice
transportation - the movement of rock and sediment by ice
deposition - the dropping of material carried by ice
glacier - a large mass of moving ice formed from compacted snow
till - unsorted rock and sediment deposited directly by ice
corrie - a bowl-shaped hollow formed by glacier erosion
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Glossary 2
U-shaped valley - a wide, steep-sided valley carved by a glacier
arête - a narrow ridge between two glaciated hollows or valleys
pyramidal peak - a pointed mountain summit formed by erosion from several sides
hanging valley - a smaller valley left higher than the main glacial valley
moraine - a ridge of rock and sediment deposited by a glacier
drumlin - a long, oval hill of till shaped by moving ice
erratic - a rock carried by ice and left far from where it came from
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