Mining in Manitoba

Pleistocene Glaciation

Manitoba Glaciation

Types of Glaciers

Glacier Facts

Descriptions

The glaciation of the Pleistocene epoch greatly modified the pre-existing topography of Manitoba and the deposits left following the retreat of the glaciers. The pre-existing surface was scoured by the glaciers to exposed fresh bedrock. Broken material was carried forward during the advance of the glaciers and then dropped when they melted, forming large moraine, drumlin, eskers, and outwash plains. During the retreat of the glaciers, a thick ice-sheet blocked the natural drainage to the north, and vast glacial lakes formed in front of this barrier. Large deltas formed where major streams entered this lake, beach deposits formed along the shorelines at different levels during the successive stages of the lake, and lake silts and clays were deposited on the bottom.

  

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Glacial Landforms

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Glacial Terms

 

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