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GLACIATION
Definition of terms
Glaciation: - is the action of moving ice on the surface of the earth. It involves erosion,
transportation and deposition i.e. the process by which landscape is sculptured by the
action of moving ice
Ice: - refers to solid water formed by freezing and condensation of atmospheric water
vapour
Snow: - are falling pellets of frozen water from the atmosphere
Glacier: - is a mass of ice of limited width moving outwards from an area of accumulation
Ice sheet: - is a large and continuous mass of ice that covers a large area of a lowland
Ice cap: - is a permanent cover of ice on earth’s surface covering smaller sections of land
Ice berg: - permanent floating ice in large water bodies e.g. oceans

Movement of Ice
Ice moves outwards from its area of accumulation through the following processes: -
a. Basal slip
b. Extrusion flow
c. Plastic flowage

a. Basal slip
In this process, the glacier slides over the terrain on which it sits, lubricated by the
presence of liquid water.
Liquid water results when the weight of the ice causes the layers in contact with the
rock beneath to melt slightly.

b. Extrusion flow
When ice accumulates on the earth’s surface, it builds up to great thickness at the
centre.
The resultant weight compresses the layers of ice below, forcing them to spread out
where there is less pressure

c. Plastic flowage
Within a mass of ice, great pressure is exerted on the layers at the bottom, sides and
centre.
This pressure causes some ice particles to melt slightly thereby shift their position
slightly downhill before refreezing

Factors that influence ice movement.

a) Gradient of the land. Ice moves faster on steep slopes compared to on gentle
slopes. This is because the effect of gravity is greater on steep slopes.
b) Season. Movement of ice is faster during summer than in winter since thawing that
facilitates movement is more frequent in summer.
c) Friction between the ice and ground surface. The centre parts of a glacier tend to
move faster compared to the sides and bottom since there is greater resistance due to
friction with the rocks at the bottom and sides.
d) Thickness and weight of ice. Thick masses of ice exert great pressure on the layers

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below, inducing slight melting and therefore faster movement. Thick and heavy glaciers
are likely to move faster.

Processes of glaciation.
Glacial Erosion
Glaciers erode the terrain principally through three methods: plucking, abrasion and
sapping.

a. Plucking/Quarrying
This occurs when ice at the base and the sides of a glacier freeze onto the rocks
The rocks are then pulled and carried away by the moving ice
It is common in well jointed or faulted rocks

b. Abrasion
This is caused by rock debris that is embedded in a glacier.
These debris scratch, scrape and polish the rock surfaces over which the glacier moves

c. Sapping
This refers to the breaking of rocks through alternate freezing and thawing of the water
contained in the cracks between the glacier and the floor/side of the mountain

Factors influencing glacial erosion.

i. Nature of the underlying rock: - well jointed/faulted rocks are easily eroded by plucking
process since the joints allow water to enter the rock. Less resistant rocks are eroded faster
by abrasion compared to resistant rocks.
ii. Availability of debris: - debris acts as erosive tools. The more the debris embedded in the
glacier the more effective is abrasion process.
iii. Speed of the glacier: - is determined by the slope of land on which the glacier rests. The
steeper the slope, faster the speed the greater the erosive energy.
iv. The thickness and weight of the glacier: - a thick glacier exerts great pressure on the
underlying rock causing weathering. The rock debris embedded in the glacier is pressed
down by the thick glacier to erode by abrasion.

Glacial Transportation
Materials transported by a glacier is called moraine. It consists of a variety of materials
such as rock fragments, sand, gravel and boulders
Moraines are of the following types: -
a. Ground moraine: - load carried at the base or below a glacier
b. Lateral moraine: - load carried along the sides of the glaciers
c. Medial moraine: - load carried on the surface but at the centre
d. Terminal moraine: - material deposited by the glacier at the point where it melts

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Glacial Deposition
Sometimes, parts of a glacier may become so heavily ladened that its ability to transport its
sub glacial moraine is reduced or stop, deposition then occurs
Glacial deposits are divided fluvio-glacial and till deposits
Fluvio – glacial deposits are materials deposited by water from melting ice in a glacier
whereas tills are moraines/materials deposited by ice on melting

Factors influencing glacial deposits

i. Gradient or slope of land: - gentle slopes allow for the accumulation of large sheets of ice
and subsequent deposition of fluvio-glacial material (materials deposited by melting water).
ii. Stagnation of glacier: - when a glacier is stagnant (due to gentle slope on which it rests), it
leads to pressure being exerted at the base of the glacier which in turn leads to melting of
the base. The melt water then carries and deposits materials below the ice.
iii. Friction: - between the moving ice and the rock surface leads to deposition of the heavy
materials below the ice.
iv. Weight of the glacier: - heavy glaciers tend to be deposited faster/more/Amount of glacial
drift: -when a glacier has so much sub glacial moraines, it becomes too heavy forcing it to
deposit some of its load.

Resultant features of glaciation in highlands/highland areas

i. Cirques/corries
These are deep and wide hollows at the head of glaciated valley or high up above the
sides of the valley
It is formed due to interchanging processes of freeze and thaw of snow in winter and
summer respectively
When snow accumulates in a shallow and pre – existing depression on the mountain
side or at the head of the valley forming a glacier
During summer, the snow melts and freezes again during winter
Glacial abrasion deepens the hollow
Plucking process steepens the back walls of the depression
These actions are repeated over time to form a depression known as a cirque
When the cirque is filled up with melt water/rain water it forms a corrie lake/tarn

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ii. Aretes
These are narrow and sharp edged steep ridges that separates two corries/cirques
They form when two cirques cut back to back through headward recession i.e.
backward cutting of the walls of a cirque through plucking and nivation
This results into very steep and sharp ridges called arêtes

iii. Pyramidal peaks

This is a sharp and steep sided peak surrounded by cirques/corries
It forms when cirques develop on all sides of a mountain
Frost action (through freeze and thaw/plucking) causes blocks of rocks on the
mountain to be broken down resulting in the back walls of the cirque to be steepened
and deepened
The cirques then start to cut back simultaneously and form a sharp peak called a
pyramidal peak
Examples of pyramidal peaks include Corynder and Delamere on Mt. Kenya. Also,
Albert, Margherita and Alexandria peaks on Mt. Ruwenzori

iv. U shaped valley/glacial trough

These are nearly flat-bottomed valleys with steep sides and a U shaped cross-sectional
profile
A pre-existing river valley is filled with ice/glacier
As glacier moves downstream, tributary glaciers increase the amount of ice in the main

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valley
Glacier erodes the main valley by plucking and abrasion
The interlocking spurs are trimmed into truncated spurs.
The glacier deepens, widens and straightens the valley floor forming a U-shaped valley
or a glacial trough
Other erosional and depositional features formed within the glacial trough are alluvial
fans and lateral moraines.

v. Hanging valleys
During the formation of a glacial trough, a small valley is left hanging above the major
or over deepened valley called a hanging valley
Initially there is a main valley and a tributary valley, with ice filled in them.
The main valley is eroded faster as it contains more ice compared to the tributary
valleys. The floor of the main valley is therefore at a much lower level than the tributary
valleys.
The ice melts and the tributary valleys are left at a higher level than the main valley
They are seen to hang above the main valley as hanging valleys.
Hanging valleys are common on the middle slopes of Mt. Kenya where they form
waterfalls e.g. Vivienne falls

vi. Fiords/fjords
This is a submerged glacial trough on a highland coast
It is formed after a glaciated valley is drowned/submerged by sea/ocean
Action of ice through plucking and abrasion results in the widening and deepening of
the lower sections of an already existing river valley
With time, glacier disappears after melting leaving behind a steep sided valley.
When there is a rise in the sea level, the straightened and deep glacial valley is drowned/
submerged by the sea water to form fiords/fjords
They are mainly found in temperate lands along the Scandinavian countries

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vii. Rock basin

This is a depression within a glacial trough where differential erosion has taken place
especially areas that have less resistant rocks.
At the point where two glaciers converge, erosion is greater resulting in the formation of
a glacial depression called a rock basin.
They also form in areas with less resistant rocks where the glacier removes these (less
resistant rocks) through abrasion and plucking; leaving behind a shallow depression
called a rock basin
Later, during the post glacial period, water may accumulate in the rock basin/
depression/hollow to form lakes called finger or ribbon lakes

Resultant features of glaciation in lowland areas

These include both erosional and depositional features

Erosional features
i. Ice eroded plains
These are extensive and almost level lowlands that were previously under ice sheets
During glacial transportation, ground moraine erodes the rocks on the existing

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landforms through abrasion and plucking to form long and extensive plains called ice
eroded plains

ii. Depressions
Lowland glacial areas may comprise of less resistant rocks that are easily eroded by ice
sheets/glacier
The glacier scoops out the materials from the surface through plucking and then lowers
it to form shallow depression.
This depression may later fill with melt water to form a glacial lake

iii. Roche Mountonee

This is a rock outcrop that has been eroded by the glacial processes of abrasion and
plucking.
Abrasion polishes and smoothens the upstream side of the rock outcrop whereas
plucking will make the downstream end to steep and rugged

iv. Crag and tail

A crag is a steep-edged rocky outcrop or a hill side rock projection which protects a
mass of less resistant/softer rock (tail) on the downstream side of the glacier from ice
erosion.
The crag usually lies on the path of oncoming ice; the ice moves over and around the
crag but only slightly erodes its sides. The material that was being carried by the glacier
is deposited on the downstream/leeward side.
Such deposits and the softer rocks form an elongated tail

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Depositional features
i. Erratics
This is a large boulder rock which has been transported by a glacier so that it rests on a
country rock which is different from it i.e. it has no relationship with the rock material
found in the area of deposition
They are deposited on the inlands when the ice melts

ii. Boulder trains

This is a group of erratics obtained from the same bedrock and which are deposited
with their apex pointing to the origin of the deposited materials in a linear form

iii. Tills
This refers to unsorted and heterogeneous mixture of rocks, clay and sand that are
transported and deposited by the ice sheet on melting.
They are of two types namely: lodgment and ablation tills
Lodgment tills are deposited over the ice at the base as a glacier reaches its melting
point and the ice moves. The moving ice aligns the debris onto the sub glacial surface
Ablation tills are deposited when the ice melts

iv. Kames and eskers

Kames are isolated hills made of sand and gravel which have been deposited in layers
by glacial water
They are built by streams emerging at high levels from temporary and stagnant ice
covers.
As the glacier front recedes, unsupported back of deposits collapses leaving a steep
faced hill called kames
Eskers are long winding ridge of coarse sand and gravel that is formed by streams that
flow continuously beneath/within the ice but in a parallel direction to the moving ice
As the ice front recedes, the streams continuously deposit the materials to form a long
winding ridge called eskers

v. Terminal moraines
This is a long ridge of moraine formed by extensive deposition of moraine along the
edge of an ice sheet.
It is formed when the ice remains stagnant for a long time causing the ice at the edges
of the ice sheet to melt

vi. Drumlins
These are smooth and long hills deposited and shaped under an ice sheet or a very
broad glacier
They are formed beneath the ice due to friction between the bedrock and the boulder
clay.
This results to deposition of clay at the valley bottom.

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Further deposition leads to large mounds of till forming
The moving ice streamlines the till that had been deposited irregularly resulting into
elongated egg-shaped hills called drumlins

vii. Outwash plain

This is a wide and gently sloping plain of gravel, fine sand and clay
It forms when large ice sheets stagnate on a gently sloping landscape and start melting
along the edges.
The sub glacial melt water spreads out carrying fine materials which are deposited
further down slope as the ice retreats.
Pre-existing valleys are buried by these fluvio-glacial materials.
The unconsolidated clay, silt, sand and gravel are deposited in mass covering a wide
area forming an undulating plain called an outwash plain

Significance of Glaciation
i. Outwash plains, old glacial beds and tills are at times very fertile thus leading to the

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development of agriculture e.g. wheat producing regions within the Canadian prairies
ii. Some glacial lakes provide natural waterways e.g. the Great Lakes of Canada and North
America thus facilitates transport and communication
iii. Glaciers on highlands may form sources of river e.g. R. Tana on Mt. Kenya
iv. Waterfalls resulting from hanging valleys provide suitable sites for the generation of HEP
v. Glaciated mountain regions and their resultant features e.g. cirques, pyramidal peaks, etc.
attracts tourists during winter for games/sports hence earning foreign exchange
vi. Sheltered waters in the fiords provide suitable breeding grounds for fish and sites for
construction of natural harbors
vii. Sand for building and construction can be harvested from outwash plains, kames and
eskers
viii.Glaciation results into rugged landscape that makes settlement and construction of
transport and communication difficult
ix. Extensive areas of land are sometimes turned into glacial lakes by deposits from moraine
thus reducing the amount of land available for settlement
x. Some outwash plains may contain infertile sandy soils that hinder agricultural practices

KCSE QUESTIONS – GLACIATION

KCSE 1997 – Q8
(a) With the aid of well labeled diagrams, describe the processes involved in the formation of a
corrie lake.
(b) Explain four ways in which a glaciated landscape is of significance to human activities.
(c) Suppose students were to carry out a field study on glaciations on Mt. Kenya.
(i) Give two reasons why they would need a route map
(ii) Name two types of moraines they are likely to study
(iii) State two problems they are likely to experience during the field study.

KCSE 1999 – Q7
The block diagram below shows the feature resulting from glaciating in a lowland region. Use it
to answer questions (a)

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(a) In your answer booklet, name the features marked R, S and V

(b) Explain three conditions that may lead to glacial deposition in lowlands
(c) Describe the process involved in the formation of
(i) Moraine dammed lake
(ii) Outwash plain
(d) Suppose you were to carry out field study of land use in glaciated lowland.
(i) Apart from conducting oral interviews, state four other methods you would use to
collect information
(ii) State three advantages of using oral interview to collect information during a field study.
(iii) State three possible land uses you are likely to identify during the field study

KCSE 2000 – Q5
The diagram below shows a glaciated upland area

(a) Name the feature marked P, Q and R

(b) How is a U- shaped valley formed?

KCSE 2003 – Q7
(a) (i)What is a glacier?
(ii)Distinguish between valley glaciers and ice sheets

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(b) The diagram (in the question paper) represents an upland glaciated landscape. Use it to
answer question b (i) and (ii)

(i) Name the features marked D, E and F

(ii) Describe how pyramidal peak is formed
(c) Explain the significance of upland glaciated features to human activities
(d) Students from a school near Mt. Kenya were planning to carry out a field study of the
glaciated features on the top of the mountain.
(i) Give four reasons why it would be difficult for the students to undertake the field study
on the glaciated features on the mountain
(ii) Describe how the students would use a photograph of Mt. Kenya to identify the
glaciated features of the mountain.

KCSE 2005 – Q4
(a) Name a place in Kenya where tarns are found
(b) Describe how a tarn is formed

KCSE 2006 – Q8
(a) (i)What is an ice sheet?
(ii)Give two reasons why there are no ice sheets in Kenya.
(iii)Explain three factors that influence the movement of the ice from the place where it has
accumulated
(b) Describe how an arête is formed
(c) The diagram below shows types of moraines in a valley glacier

(i)Name the type of moraines marked S, T and V

(ii)Explain four positive effects of glaciation in lowland areas.

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KCSE 2008 – Q9
(a) (i)Describe how ice is formed on a high mountain.
(ii)Apart from a valley glacier, name two types of ice masses found on Mountains in East
Africa.
(b) Explain how the movement of a valley glacier is influenced by the following factors:
(i) Temperature
(ii) Width of a glacier channel.
(c) Describe the distinctive characteristics of the following features resulting from glacial
erosion:
(i) A corrie
(ii) A pyramidal peak
(iii) a fiord (fjord)
(d) (i)The diagram below shows a glaciated upland area

Name the features marked M, N, and P.

(ii)Describe the process through which a crag and tail is formed

KCSE 2010 – Q8
(a) Describe plucking as a process in glacial erosion.
(b) Explain three conditions that lead to glacial deposition.
(c) The diagram below shows features resulting from glacial deposition on a lowland area.

(i) Name the features marked X, Y and Z.

(ii) Describe how terminal moraine is formed.

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(d) Explain four positive effects of glaciation in lowland areas.

KCSE 2013 – Q4
(a) What is the difference between an ice sheet and an iceberg?
(b) Name three types of glacial moraines

KCSE 2014 – Q10

(a) (i)Name two mountains in East Africa which are ice capped
(ii)Identify three ways in which ice moves.
(b) Describe the formation of the following glacial features:
(i) Hanging valley
(ii) Pyramidal peak
(c) You are required to carry out a field study on erosional features in a glaciated lowland area
(i) Give two reasons why you would require a working schedule
(ii) Name three erosional features you are likely to observe during the field study
(iii) Give three follow up activities you would undertake after the field study

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