drumlin
/ˈdrʌmlɪn
/noun Geology
A low oval mound or small hill, typically one of a group, consisting of compacted boulder clay moulded by past glacial action.Here, a drumlin, an oval mound smooth-sculpted by glaciers, rises to give an uninterrupted panorama of sea, fields and forests from its grassy crown....
- About 10,000 years ago, boulders and soils trapped beneath retreating ice sheets were moulded into drumlins, and it is believed there is an island for each day of the year.
- A large interior plateau contains dense forests, thousands of lakes and peat bogs, and rocky infertile soils associated with a glacially modified landscape with numerous drumlins and eskers.
Origin
Mid 19th century: probably from drum2 + -lin from -ling.