A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1037 entries
glacial polish
A smooth, reflective surface on bedrock produced by the grinding of a glacier sliding over it — millions of rock fragments embedded in the base of the ice acting as an enormous sheet of sandpaper. Glacially polished rock shines in sunlight and is striated with parallel scratches (striations) that record the direction the ice traveled.
Etymology
“Glacial” from Latin “glacies” (ice). “Polish” from Old French “polir,” from Latin “polire” (to smooth, refine).