Outwash plain
Plain formed from glacier sediment transported by meltwater / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article is about the glacial geographical feature. For the non-glacier related feature, see Alluvial plain.
An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: sandurs[1]), sandr[2] or sandar,[3] is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and carries the debris along. The meltwater at the snout of the glacier deposits its load of sediment over the outwash plain, with larger boulders being deposited near the terminal moraine, and smaller particles travelling further before being deposited. Sandurs are common in Iceland where geothermal activity accelerates the melting of ice flows and the deposition of sediment by meltwater.
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