Moraine
From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
- This article is about geological phenomena. For the city, see Moraine, Ohio.
Moraines clearly seen on a side glacier of the Gorner Glacier, Zermatt, Switzerland. The lateral moraine is the high snow-free bank of debris in the top left hand quarter of the picture. The medial moraine is the double line of debris running down the centre-line of the glacier.
Moraine is rock debris, fallen or plucked from a mountain and transported by glaciers or ice sheets. The moraine may be lying on the glacier's surface or have been deposited as piles or sheets of debris, where the glacier has melted. Till is another word used to describe the sediments left by melted glaciers but is not used to describe debris lying on a glacier's surface.