Marginal Channels
Marginal Channels
ancient erosion channels washed out by streams of glacial meltwater flowing along the edge of an ancient ice sheet where the ice sheet encountered a reversal of gradient. Similar relief forms, lateral channels (tiered valleys), are often found at the margins of modern and ancient mountain and finger glaciers, primarily at their terminal part. Each tier of these formations reflects a stage in the thinning of the ice. Marginal channels are found in most glacial regions—for example, Scandinavia, Franz Josef Land, the Tien-Shan, the Altai, Northeastern Siberia, and Tuva.