kame

Mound formed on a retreating glacier and deposited on land

A kame is a glacial landform, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sand, gravel and till that accumulates in a depression on a retreating glacier, and is then deposited on the land surface with further melting of the glacier. Kames are often associated with kettles, and this is referred to as kame and kettle topography. The word kame is a variant of comb, which has the meaning "crest" among others. The geological term was introduced by Thomas Jamieson in 1874.

Back