How did the Matterhorn become a glacial horn?

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Snow-capped, rugged Atlas Mountains encircle a green valley with scattered trees, terraced fields, and a few small buildings in Morocco. — valley The rugged Atlas Mountains surround a valley in Morocco.

The Matterhorn became a glacial horn through the process of headward erosion by multiple cirques arranged in a radial pattern around its flanks.12

During the Quaternary Period, Alpine glaciation modeled the landscape by carving out amphitheatre-shaped hollows known as cirques. As these cirques expanded, they eroded the surrounding rock through frost shattering and ice wedging. The ridges between these adjacent, parallel glacial valleys were narrowed into sharp, knife-edge arêtes.12

When three or more of these cirques erode toward a central point, they leave behind a steep, pyramid-shaped peak flanked by nearly vertical headwall cliffs. This specific landform is known as a horn, with the Matterhorn serving as the most widely recognized example.2