| Category | Landform | Where Found | Formation Process | UK Named Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erosional (Upland) |
Corrie (cirque/cwm) | Mountainside, north/NE facing | Rotational flow + plucking (backwall) + abrasion (floor) | Red Tarn, Helvellyn; Glaslyn, Snowdon |
| Arête | Upland mountain ridges | Two corries eroding from opposite sides — ridge narrows | Striding Edge, Helvellyn, Lake District | |
| Pyramidal Peak | High mountain summits | Three or more corries eroding from different sides of one peak | Snowdon (Y Wyddfa), 1,085 m, Wales | |
| U-shaped Valley | Major valley floors | Glacier transforms V-valley: lateral + vertical erosion | Nant Ffrancon, Snowdonia; Langdale, Lake District | |
| Hanging Valley | Sides of U-shaped valley | Tributary glacier less powerful; erodes shallower than main glacier | Watendlath above Borrowdale; Pistyll Rhaeadr, Wales | |
| Truncated Spur | Sides of U-shaped valley | Glacier cuts off interlocking spurs — cliff faces left | Nant Ffrancon; Borrowdale, Lake District | |
| Ribbon Lake | Floor of U-shaped valley | Over-deepened rock basin fills with meltwater; often moraine-dammed | Windermere (17 km); Ullswater; Llyn Tegid | |
| Depositional (Upland & Lowland) |
Drumlin | Lowland valleys and plains under former ice | Ice reshapes till into streamlined oval hill; stoss faces upglacier | Eden Valley, Cumbria; County Down, N. Ireland |
| Erratic | Anywhere glacier reached | Rock transported from distant source and dropped as ice melts | Norber Erratics, Yorkshire Dales (Silurian on Carboniferous) | |
| Terminal Moraine | At maximum glacier extent | Till dumped at glacier snout as ice stops advancing | Multiple in Lake District; Vale of York | |
| Outwash Plain (Sandar) | Lowland beyond terminal moraine | Meltwater rivers deposit sorted, stratified sediment | East Anglian lowlands; Breidamerkursandur, Iceland (largest) | |
| Kettle Hole | Outwash plain | Buried ice block melts → depression forms; may fill with water | Widespread in East Anglia and Midlands | |
| Esker | Outwash plain and beyond | Subglacial meltwater river deposits sediment in tunnel; ice melts → ridge remains | Common in Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia |
This comparison covers Erosional vs Depositional Landforms — Upland vs Lowland within Glacial Landforms for GCSE Geography. Revise Glacial Landforms in Glacial Landscapes in the UK for GCSE Geography with 17 exam-style questions and 20 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 9 of 16 in this topic. Use this comparison to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Practice questions for Glacial Landforms
What is the name for the small lake that forms in the floor of a corrie after glaciation?
Describe how a corrie (cirque) is formed.
Quick recall flashcards
What is an arête?
A narrow, knife-edge ridge between two corries or glacial valleys, formed when glaciers erode from both sides of a ridge.
What is a corrie (cwm)?
An armchair-shaped hollow in a mountainside formed by glacial erosion — rotational flow deepens the floor, plucking steepens the back wall.