Let’s again imagine yourself standing in a vast, icy wilderness where the land is constantly being shaped by frost, ice, and gravity. Unlike warm, humid regions where rivers and vegetation drive erosion, in periglacial areas, it’s the freeze-thaw cycles that carve out landscapes over time. The Periglacial Cycle of Erosion, proposed by L.C. Peltier in…
Imagine you are walking through an extremely cold, barren land, where the ground is permanently frozen beneath your feet. This is the periglacial region—a world shaped by ice, frost, and extreme temperature changes. As you traverse this landscape, you come across some fascinating natural formations that seem almost alien. Let’s explore them one by one….
Imagine you are standing in a vast, open landscape where the ground beneath your feet is frozen solid for most of the year. There is no thick layer of ice or a glacier covering the surface, yet the land remains in a state of deep freeze. This is the periglacial environment, a realm shaped by…
Imagine a world where vast regions of Earth are covered in thick ice sheets, stretching for millions of square kilometers. The temperature remains sub-zero for thousands to millions of years, transforming entire landscapes. This is what we call an Ice Age—a time when global climate shifts dramatically, leading to widespread glaciation. But the story of…
The Glacial Cycle of Erosion, proposed by W.M. Davis, follows the same logic as his Normal Cycle of Erosion, where landscapes evolve in sequential stages over time. However, due to the limited availability of glacial topography, this theory was widely criticized and rejected by many geomorphologists. Still, this model provides a broad framework for understanding…
Imagine a mighty glacier descending from towering mountains, its icy surface gleaming under the sun. As it moves downward, it reaches a point where temperatures rise above freezing—the snow line. Here, the glacier begins to melt, and a network of small, rushing streams emerges from its snout (the glacier’s endpoint). This melting process is called…
Imagine you are in a vast, icy landscape where a glacier is retreating after centuries of slow movement. As it melts, it leaves behind a chaotic mix of rocks, sand, and silt—like a construction site abandoned by nature. This is glacial deposition, a process where glaciers, after eroding landscapes, act as transporters and depositors of…
Imagine you are standing in the middle of a massive glacier—an endless river of ice stretching as far as the eye can see. At first glance, it seems calm and motionless. But don’t be deceived! Beneath this seemingly frozen world, a slow yet powerful force is at work, reshaping the landscape. Glacial erosion occurs due…
Imagine you are trekking in the high Himalayas. As you ascend, the air gets colder, the terrain turns from lush green to rocky, and finally, you reach a point where snow never melts. This is the snow line—the altitude above which temperatures never rise above freezing, even in the hottest month of the year. So,…
In 1905, W.M. Davis introduced the concept of the Arid Cycle of Erosion, which explains how desert landscapes gradually change over time due to erosion and deposition. However, this concept applies only to mountain deserts (like the Thar Desert) and not to low-level open deserts. The cycle passes through four stages — Initial, Youth, Maturity,…