What are moraines on the North European Plain?

On the North European Plain, moraines are accumulations of rock debris, or till, that were transported and deposited by glaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch. These glacial deposits blanket much of the region, creating a landscape that is typically postglacial.12

Two primary types of moraines are significant to the area's geography:

• Ground Moraine: This consists of an irregular, widespread blanket of till deposited beneath a glacier. It is composed primarily of sand and clay and is the most common glacial deposit found on the plain.2
• Terminal Moraines: These are ridgelike accumulations of debris that mark the stationary edges of the Pleistocene ice sheets. On the North European Plain, these appear as hilly belts strewn in great arcs across northern Germany and Poland, extending into Belarus and western Russia. They are often characterized by uneven terrain featuring knobs and kettles.12

These features are frequently interspersed with long, parallel spillways formed by glacial meltwaters, which were subsequently covered with sand and gravel.1