moraine

American  

[muh-reyn] / məˈreɪn /

noun

1. a ridge, mound, or irregular mass of unstratified glacial drift, chiefly boulders, gravel, sand, and clay.

2. a deposit of such material left on the ground by a glacier.

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moraine British  

/ mɒˈreɪn /

noun

1. a mass of debris, carried by glaciers and forming ridges and mounds when deposited

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moraine Scientific  

/ mə-rān′ /

1. A mass of till (boulders, pebbles, sand, and mud) deposited by a glacier, often in the form of a long ridge. Moraines typically form because of the plowing effect of a moving glacier, which causes it to pick up rock fragments and sediments as it moves, and because of the periodic melting of the ice, which causes the glacier to deposit these materials during warmer intervals.

2. ◆ A moraine deposited in front of a glacier is a terminal moraine.

3. ◆ A moraine deposited along the side of a glacier is a lateral moraine.

4. ◆ A moraine deposited down the middle of a glacier is a medial moraine. Medial moraines are actually the combined lateral moraines of two glaciers that have merged.

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moraine Cultural  

1. A pile of debris, often extending for miles, deposited by a glacier. It is composed of rock fragments transported by the ice, which are left behind when the ice melts.

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Other Word Forms

• morainal adjective
• morainic adjective

Etymology

Origin of moraine

First recorded in 1780–90; from French, from Savoyard dialect morêna “rise in the ground along the lower edge of a sloping field,” equivalent to mour(o) “mound, accumulation of earth” (from unattested murr- “mound, elevation,” apparently pre-Latin ) + -ena suffix of landforms, probably of pre-Latin origin; compare Upper Italian (Piedmont) morena “heap of organic detritus,” Spanish moreña “heap of stones, moraine”

Example Sentences

Consulting geologists cautioned that surrounding valleys were composed of porous glacial moraine unsuitable for water containment.

From Seattle Times

Locating these moraines enabled the researchers to map older glacier extents before pilots took their first flyover photos in the early 1930s.

From Science Daily

Now, he was on that titular mountain with his fiancée: walking a precarious bridge, crossing jagged moraines and traversing rocky terrain on a nine-day trek to the Everest base camp.

From Seattle Times

They attribute the disaster to the failure of the moraines, characterised by loose boulders, rocks and soil at the edge of the glacial lake.

From BBC

It flowed inexorably from the mountain’s crest, gouging a bowl-shaped basin out of the rock and pushing debris into a rubble pile called a moraine.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• hill
• rim