Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How do kame terraces form between a glacier and a valley wall?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
glacial landform
Eskers,
or narrow
ridges of
gravel and sand left by a retreating glacier,
wind through western
Nunavut, Canada, near the Thelon River.
A kame terrace is a landform created when meltwater streams deposit stratified driftâtypically sand and gravelâin the space between the lateral margin of a glacier and the adjacent valley wall.123
These features form as part of a process involving stagnant ice deposits. As meltwater flows along the edge of the glacier, it carries and deposits sediment in the confined area between the ice mass and the valley side. When the glacier eventually melts away, the support for these sediments is removed, causing the stratified drift to slump and partially collapse, which leaves behind a terrace-like landform along the valley wall.12