Glaciation… It would be cold comfort (And a hollow statement) For me to say I’m sorry For introducing you to a friend: The smoothed out circular corrie.

If two corries sit back to back Then I’m prepared to bet There’s a narrow ledge between them That’s known as an arête. Arrêter in French means ‘to stop’ And I would take that pledge If stumbling along the top Of Helvellyn’s Striding Edge.

A glacier will freeze and melt With a change of a few degrees Breaking up the rocks before it Into loosely weathered scree. Of course, it may take passengers As it ‘flows’ across the land And exactly where it drops them off Is cold, calculated and planned

Moraine is the material deposited Then dropped as the ice recedes. There are different types of moraine to describe So on onwards I’ll proceed. Lateral moraine is on top of a glacier And most importantly at the sides In our glaciated U-shaped valley Deep, long and wide.

Recessional moraine forms in ridges When a glacier retreats or stands still More material for us to bank Or perhaps store in the ‘till’. Terminal moraine marks the end And is found at the glacier’s snout A long lasting reminder of the ice flow’s Power and clout.

Glaciation – hard to imagine But its effects are easy to see. In the best way possible, a wearing topic To a Geography teacher’s glee. PS – I haven’t even mentioned Tarns or ribbon lakes Or the wonderful whale shaped Drumlin For I’ve had to apply the brakes… Like a glacier, I’ve scratched the surface And this will have to suffice For now, I guess, we’ll have to freeze As these terms are put on ice. M F Cowan 2009