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A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), 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.
Moraines only show up in places that have, or used to have, glaciers. Glaciers are extremely large, moving rivers of ice. Glaciers shape the landscape in a process called glaciation. Glaciation can affect the land, rocks, and water in an area for thousands of years. That is why moraines are often very old.
Moraines are distinct ridges or mounds of debris that are laid down directly by a glacier or pushed up by it 1. The term moraine is used to describe a wide variety of landforms created by the dumping, pushing, and squeezing of loose rock material, as well as the melting of glacial ice.
Moraine, accumulation of rock debris (till) carried or deposited by a glacier. The material, which ranges in size from blocks or boulders (usually faceted or striated) to sand and clay, is unstratified when dropped by the glacier and shows no sorting or bedding.
Moraines form through several main processes, which may vary from glacier to glacier, on a temporal (e.g. seasonal basis), and with changes in climate. The key moraine-forming processes are shown in the diagram below and explained through this page.
Moraine is a material that is transported by the glacier then deposited. These materials range in size from large blocks or boulders to sand and clay. The materials are not stratified at the point of deposition by the glacier and show no sorting or bedding.
Geologists study moraines to figure out how far glaciers extended and how long it took them to melt away. Moraines are named by their location relative to the glacier: Lateral moraines form at the edges of the glacier as material drops onto the glacier from erosion of the valley walls.