U Shaped Valley
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
U Shaped Valley
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture And Enhancement
Description
A U-shaped valley or glacial trough is formed by the process of glaciation. It has a characteristic U shape, with steep, straight sides and a flat bottom. Glaciated valleys are formed when a glacier travels across and down a slope, carving the valley by the action of scouring. When the ice recedes or thaws, the valley remains, often littered with small boulders that were transported within the ice.
As the glacier moves downhill through a valley, the shape of the valley is transformed. A valley shaped like a V from river cutting is transformed into a U-shaped valley through the glacial erosion processes of plucking and abrasion. This results in large rocky material called till carried in the glacier.
Materials called boulder clay is deposited on the floor of the valley, and as the ice melts and retreats, the valley is left with very steep sides and a wide, flat floor. A river or stream may flow through the valley due to melt-water from the glacier. This replaces the original stream or river and is known as a misfit stream. If the material which pushed in front of the glacier is left, this material is called a terminal moraine. The valley dammed by the moraine may then flood creating a lake which may twist and turn, which is termed a ribbon lake.
Image made from Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado. The view is looking east toward Moraine Park and Beaver Meadows.
This glaciated U-shaped valley was photographed from Old Fall River Road in Rocky Mountain National Park looking east towards the town of Estes Park. Copyright 2013 Jon Burch Photography
Uploaded
November 1st, 2013
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