Cirque

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Continental Glaciers Valley
Glaciers
Valley Glacier
Erosion
Valley Glacier
Erosion Features
Arete U-Shaped Valleys Eratic Cirque
Moraine

Hanging
Valley

Staircase
Lakes
National Park image
A cirque is a bowl shaped area carved out of the mountain top by a valley glacier. The cirque shapes are carved from the softer rock. The harder rock around it stays, and the softer rock and other materials are eroded by the glacier. This leaves the shape called a cirque.
USGS image Peter Knight Image

 

 
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