Collective term for the existence of beds or laminae. A bed is separated by a more or less well-defined divisional plane from its neighbours above and below. 1) Well-bedded -- when beds are immediately apparent, clearly defined and can be easily traced across the deposit. 2) Moderately-bedded - intermediate between 1) and 3). 3) Poorly-bedded -- when beds are only discerned after careful scrutiny, or bedding planes are discontinuous.

(syn. Felsenmeer) A level or gently sloping area covered with moderate sized or large blocks of rock that have been derived from the underlying bedrock by frost shattering.

An area covered or filled with peat material which generally consists of undecomposed to moderately decomposed sphagnum mosses.

A rock composed of carbonate minerals; most commonly limestone or dolomite; a sedimentary rock composed of more than 50% by weight of carbonate minerals.

A structure formed when the external, skeletal or other organic structural part of an organism has been dissolved and the resulting space is replaced by a secondary material, producing a replica of the original form.

A conical hill formed by the accumulation of cinders and other pyroclastic sediments, normally of basaltic or andesitic composition.

A step-walled, half bowl-like recess, horseshoe or semi-circular in plan, situated high on the side of a mountain and produced by the erosive activity of a mountain glacier.

An individual constituent or particle of a detrital sediment or sedimentary rock initially produced by the disintegration of a larger mass.

The capacity of particles to stick or adhere together. In effect, all of the shear strength of a material not due to friction.

The degree of packing of the individual particles of detrital sediments.

A hill of bedrock having a steep face of ice-smoothed resistant bedrock (the crag) with a long sloping tail of drift streaming behind it.

The imperceptibly slow, more or less continuous, downward and outward movement of soil or rock on slopes. The movement is essentially viscous, under shear stresses sufficient to produce permanent deformation but too small to produce shear failure as in a landslide.

A fissure in the ice formed under the influence of various strains.

Generally, a short, straight ridge made up of unconsolidated sediments (till or sand and gravel) that were initially deposited in a crevasse and subsequently deposited on the earth's surface as the ice melted.

The arrangement of laminations or beds transverse or oblique to the main planes of stratification of the deposit concerned; included are often lenticular beds between the main bedding planes; found only in granular sediments.

A landform that is commonly nearly flat and triangular or fan-shaped, made up of gravel, sand and/or finer sediments that are deposited by a river discharging into a sea or lake.

Applied to non-sorted or poorly-sorted, heterogeneous sediments containing a wide range of particle sizes in a muddy matrix.

Any material, such as boulders, till, gravel, sand or clay, transported by a glacier, and subsequently deposited by ice or meltwater.

A streamlined hill or ridge of till with the long axis paralleling direction of flow of a former glacier; generally it has an elliptical base and arched profile with a long gentle slope pointing in the downstream direction.

Used here in association with streams and lakes to indicate seasonal or short term in occurrence.

A sinuous low ridge composed of sand and gravel formed by deposition from meltwater running through a channel beneath or within glacier ice.

An area covered or filled with peat material which generally consists of well to moderately decomposed sedge (carex spp.) species.

Flat land that is subject to flooding bordering a river; consists of unconsolidated depositional material transported by the related river.

Supraglacial debris (ablation till) that moved laterally as a mudflow from glacier ice to an adjacent lower surface.

A surface made of parallel gutter-like furrows with intervening ridges that are developed in bedrock, till or stratified drift.

A lusterless, ground-glass, or mat surface imposed on the surface of rounded quartz grains because of innumerable close contacts with other similar grains.

The fragmental products of in situ granular disintegration of granite and granitic rocks by chemical processes (e.g., hydrolysis).

An interval of geologic time extending from approximately 10,000 years ago to present.

Vegetation with an affinity to wet sites.

Stones deposited in glaciolacustrine or marine sediments from the melting of floating ice.

Occurring within the pore spaces of a particulate sediment; of, pertaining to, existing in, or forming an interstice or interstices.

A steep sided hill or short ridge of stratified drift, formed in contact with glacier ice.

A remnant terrace of stratified drift deposited between a valley ice lobe and the bounding side slope of the valley.

Surface formed of a kame complex interspersed with kettles.

Irregular surface formed of hillocks and scattered kettles; may refer to either morainal or kame topography.

Residual deposit of coarse material that has had the finer fraction removed by a transporting agent, usually wind or water.

Volcanic ejecta; typically small broken fragments or cinders ranging mostly from 2 mm to 64 mm in diameter.

A low, wide ridge immediately adjacent to a river channel.

An exposure of bare limestone consisting of flat or ridged irregularly sized and shaped blocks separated by clefts formed by the widening of joints by solution.

Belonging to, inhabiting or taking place on or near the shore.

Tongue-like mass of solifluction debris commonly with steep front and sides and relatively gentle upper surface.

Largely homogeneous, nonstratified silt and fine sand of eolian origin.

Soft, unconsolidated calcium carbonate, usually mixed with varying amounts of clay and other impurities.

A homogeneous structure, without stratification, flow-banding, foliation, or bedding.

A general term for a variety of processes by which large masses of earth material are moved by gravity, either slowly or quickly, from one place to another.
MATRIX: In a rock or deposit made up of small and larger sized grains, the grains of the smaller size comprise the matrix.

Small, or relatively small elevations or inequalities, collectively, of a land surface; generally less than l metre amplitude.

A heap or stratum of refuse (broken tools, shells, ashes, etc.) normally found on the site of an ancient settlement.

A flow comprised of heterogeneous debris (including much silt-clay matrix), lubricated with a large amount of water, usually flowing in a former stream course.

Moraines formed by the re-advance of mountain glaciers during the relatively cool periods of the Holocene, including the Little Ice Age.

See sorting.

Curved dark and light bands that are convex downslope and visible on a glacier surface.

Stratified drift transported and deposited by meltwater streams beyond the glacier.

A general term applied to detrital volcanic materials that have been explosively or aerially ejected from a volcanic vent.

The most recent geological time interval; subdivided into the Pleistocene and Holocene (Recent) Epochs.

A lobe-shaped accumulation of angular fragments resembling a small glacier. The motion is the result of flow of interstitial or buried ice.

Bedrock outcrops that have a gentle abraided slope on the upstream (stoss side) and a somewhat steeper, quarried lee slope formed by glacial erosion.

Weathered bedrock decomposed in situ by processes of chemical weathering.

Disturbed bedding or stratification within a deposit, which indicates material has moved downslope due to gravity since its deposition.

Broad deposit of non-sorted, water saturated, locally derived material which has moved or is moving downslope.

A funnel shaped depression in the land surface generally in a limestone region communicating with a subterranean passage developed by solution.

The process whereby solid matter dissolves in a liquid; commonly used to refer to the dissolving of limestone (calcium carbonate) in rain and ground water.

Refers to the variation of particle sizes within a sedimentary unit; statistically it is a measure of the spread of the particle size distribution on either side of the mean. Well-sorted - particles of uniform size; non-sorted - a wide variation of particle size.

Horizontal or inclined structure in a sedimentary unit that results from its mode of deposition; includes beds, laminae, abrupt and gradational textural changes, and orientation of particles.

Fine cut lines on the surface of bedrock or a clast surface formed by glacial abrasion.

The arrangement of particles and beds within a deposit; ie., bedding structures, stratification, laminations, faults and folds.

Ablation till on the surface of glacier ice; a consequence of debris melting out from the ice and/or falling from the valley sides.

A level or slightly concave area covered or filled with peat material which generally consists of decomposed sedge or feathermoss species. The watertable is generally at or above the peat surface. The vegetation is usually characterized by a tree cover of cedar and spruce.

A low-relief, undulating landscape exhibiting gentle slopes and well-rounded hills interspersed with shallow depressions.

An accumulation of sharp angular rock fragments at the base of a cliff; produced by frost action and other processes from an exposed bedrock slope.

A general term for all pyroclastic sediments of a volcano.

A large collapse feature in a limestone region formed when the supporting wall between sinkholes breaks down.

Fine pyroclastic material less than 2 mm in size.

A series of small parallel or subparallel moraines that form a ridged topography orientated transverse to ice movement.

See sorting.

A logarithmic grade scale for size classification of sediment particles.

We hope you find this service useful and welcome your comments at: Ian.Webster@gems1.gov.bc.ca Information Disclaimer and Copyright Notice