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Glacial Systems and Landscapes

Glacial Troughs and Hanging Valleys

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Overview

Recall questions on how abrasion and plucking turn a river valley into a glacial trough, changing its planform and cross-profile, on hanging valleys formed by differential erosion by tributary glaciers, and on interlocking and truncated spurs.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Explain the role of plucking in shaping the sides of a glacial trough.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What type of valley does a glacier initially occupy before transforming it into a glacial trough?

    Model answer

    A pre-existing V-shaped river valley.

  2. 2

    How does abrasion contribute to the formation of a glacial trough?

    Model answer

    Debris-laden ice grinds the valley floor, deepening it and helping to create the flat-bottomed U-shaped profile.

  3. 3

    Explain the role of plucking in shaping the sides of a glacial trough.

    Model answer

    Plucking removes blocks of rock from the valley sides, steepening them and contributing to the characteristic steep-sided U-shape.

  4. 4

    In what ways does a glacier modify the planform of a river valley?

    Model answer

    The glacier widens and straightens the valley by eroding laterally and removing obstacles such as interlocking spurs.

  5. 5

    Describe the cross-profile produced by glacial erosion of a river valley.

    Model answer

    A U-shaped cross-profile with steep, often near-vertical sides and a wide, flat floor.

  6. 6

    Why does a tributary glacier erode less deeply than the main valley glacier?

    Model answer

    The tributary glacier is smaller, carries less ice, and therefore has less erosive power than the larger main glacier.

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