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What is glacial deposition?

Glaciers are massive rivers of ice that move across land. When they melt, they deposit materials which can create landscape features.

In this article you can learn:

  • What glacial deposition is
  • How a kettle hole is formed
  • What an erratic is
  • How a moraine is formed
  • Different features of the Cairngorms National Park

This resource is suitable for Landscapes topics for primary school learners.

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Video - Glacial deposition

Join Isla and Connor explore features of glacial deposition at Cairngorms National Park.

Watch this short video to find out about features of glacial deposition.

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What is a glacier?

  • A glacier is a huge mass of ice that moves slowly across land.
  • A moving glacier can the land and create features of glaciated erosion such as corries, ar锚tes and pyramidal peaks.

As well as eroding the land, moving glaciers also create interesting landscape features through .

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Glacial deposition

  • During the Ice Age, slow moving glaciers moved across land carrying materials, like sand, stones and rocks.
  • By the end of the Ice Age (about 10,000 years ago) the glaciers were melting.
  • When ice melts, material that has been carried along by the ice separates out into layers and is dropped, or , in the meltwater.
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What is a kettle hole?

  • Large chunks of dead ice can become partly buried by these deposits of sand and gravel. When the ice melts, a kettle hole is left behind.
  • Kettle holes may fill with water to form a kettle hole lake, like Loch Morlich and the Uath Lochans kettle holes.
  • The sand found around kettle hole lakes is different from sand on a beach by the sea. This sand has been deposited by glaciers and is made up of sand, silt, clay and gravel.

How a kettle hole lake is formed

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 5, Step 1 - A large chunk of dead ice becomes partly buried by deposits of sand and gravel., 1. A large chunk of ice becomes partly buried by deposits of sand and gravel.
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What are erratics?

Four giant erratic boulders on green grass with mountain range in the background
Image caption,
Erratic boulders on the Isle of Eigg in the Inner Hebrides. (robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo)
  • Glaciers can also carry and deposit large and unusually shaped rocks and boulders called erratics.
  • Erratics are often found on their own rather than in piles.
  • They are often made of a rock type not normally found in the area. Erratics are a mix of different rocks and materials dragged along from other places along the glacier's path.
Four giant erratic boulders on green grass with mountain range in the background
Image caption,
Erratic boulders on the Isle of Eigg in the Inner Hebrides. (robertharding / Alamy Stock Photo)
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What is a moraine?

Moraines near to River Dee
Image caption,
Moraines near the River Dee in the Cairngorms National Park (Richard Webb / Geograph)

A moraine is a narrow ridge or hill formed by dirt and rocks that have been pushed along by a moving glacier.

There are two main types of moraine:

  • a moraine which has formed along the sides of a glacier
  • a moraine which has formed at the end of a glacier
Moraines near to River Dee
Image caption,
Moraines near the River Dee in the Cairngorms National Park (Richard Webb / Geograph)
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Key words sticker

Key words about glacial deposition

  • glacier - A massive river of slow moving ice.
  • glacial features - Landscape features that have formed by glaciers.
  • glacial deposition - When a glacier drops materials, like rocks and stones, and leaves them behind.
  • Ice Age - A long period of time when the Earth's temperature became very low. The Earth's surface was buried under sheets of ice.
  • kettle hole - A hole formed when a glacier gets stuck and buried in sand and gravel. When the ice melts, the kettle hole is left behind.
  • kettle hole lake - A kettle hole that has filled with water.
  • erratic - Large and unusually shaped rocks or boulders deposited by a glacier. They are often found on their own and are made from a rock type which is not usually found in the area.
  • moraine - A narrow ridge or hill formed by dirt and rocks that have been pushed along by a moving glacier. They can be lateral (formed at the side of a glacier) or terminal (formed at the end of a glacier).
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Exploring Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorms National Park in the Scottish Highlands is the largest national park in the UK. This huge park is packed with mountains, forest paths, rivers, lochs, unique wildlife, and villages.

Look at this map to see where Cairngorms National Park is and some of its main places and features.

Map of the Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorms National Park with Braemar Primary School

Explore more features of the Cairngorms National Park with The LAB and Braemar Primary School.

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Test your knowledge

Quiz

Challenge

Challenge

Create a leaflet about one of Scotland's national parks.

A national park is an area set aside by government to preserve the natural environment. There are two national parks in Scotland:

  • Cairngorms National Park
  • Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

Research one of the national parks and design a leaflet.

Ideas to get you started:

  • Where is the national park? Can you draw a map to show its location?
  • Can you list some of its key features? Are there unique forests, mountains or lochs in the park?
  • If you need help making your leaflet, learn more here: How to create a leaflet

Balmoral Castle. video

Balmoral Castle sits just to the south of the River Dee in the Cairngorms National Park. Find out about the castle's Royal connection.

Balmoral Castle

Forests. revision-guide

Isla and Connor explore forest in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Forests

Find out more about the landscapes in the Cairngorms National Park.

Cairngorms National Park: Landscapes & Scenery
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