Glaciers, Drumlins and Ripple Moraine


A drumlin is an elongated, streamlined,  teardrop-shaped hill formed by glacial action. Its long axis is parallel with the presumed longitudinal flow of a former glacier, with the tail pointing away from the glacier foot.  Drumlins often occur in clusters - drumlin fields - with their long axes in approximate alignment.

Newspaper headlines report the total medal count as the most noteworthy measure of a country’s success in the recent Olympic games. The top three were the US with 37, Germany with 30 and Canada with 26. This can be misleading, because the numbers don’t take into account the very different resources available to athletes from different countries. It’s like comparing athletics at a university that has a well-funded sports program and 30,000 students to that of a small college with 2000 students and no sports budget at all.