roche moutonnée

roche moutonnée
/rohsh" mooht'n ay"/; Fr. /rddawsh mooh taw nay"/, Geol.
a rounded, glacially eroded rock outcrop, usually one of a group, resembling a sheep's back. Also called sheepback rock.
[1835-45; < F: glaciated rock, lit., fleecy rock]

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French“fleecy rock”English  sheepback , or  sheep rock 

      glaciated bedrock surface, usually in the form of rounded knobs. The upstream side of a roche moutonnée has been subjected to glacial scouring that has produced a gentle, polished, and striated slope; the downstream side has been subjected to glacial plucking that has resulted in a steep, irregular, and jagged slope. The ridges dividing the upstream and downstream slopes are therefore perpendicular to the general flow direction of the former ice mass.

      A crag and tail is distinguished from a roche moutonnée by the presence of an elongate, tapered ridge of till extending downstream. Often produced by selective erosion of softer strata, roche moutonnée landscapes are characteristic of glaciated crystalline shield areas.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Roche moutonnée — Une roche moutonnée est, en glaciologie, une formation rocheuse altérée par le passage d un glacier. Ce dernier donne une forme convexe, tronquée et parfois striée à la roche[1] …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Roche moutonnée — ● Roche moutonnée roche en forme de mamelon, usée et polie par le frottement d un glacier …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • roche moutonnée — [rō̂sh mo͞o tō̂ nā′] [Fr, sheep shaped rock] n. Geol. a bare hummock of rock, usually smoothed on the upstream side and grooved on the other by glacial action …   English World dictionary

  • Roche moutonnée — In glaciology, a roche moutonnée (or sheepback) is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. When a glacier erodes down to bedrock, it can form tear drop shaped hills that taper in the direction of flow.The appearance of the erosional …   Wikipedia

  • roche moutonnée — roche mou•ton•née [[t]ˈroʊʃ ˌmut nˈeɪ[/t]] n. gel a rounded, glacially eroded rock outcrop, usu. one of a group, resembling a sheep s back • Etymology: 1835–45; < F: lit., fleecy rock …   From formal English to slang

  • roche moutonnée — noun (plural roches moutonnées) Etymology: French, literally, fleecy rock Date: 1843 an elongate rounded ice sculptured hillock of bedrock …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • roche moutonnee —    A small elongate protruding knob or hillock of bedrock, so sculptured by a large glacier as to have its long axis oriented in the direction of ice movement, an upstream (stoss or scour) side that is gently inclined, smoothly rounded, and… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

  • roche moutonnée — [ˌrɒʃ mu: tɒneɪ] noun (plural roches moutonnées pronunciation same) Geology a small bare outcrop of rock shaped by glacial erosion, with one side smooth and gently sloping and the other steep, rough, and irregular. Origin C19: Fr., lit. fleecy… …   English new terms dictionary

  • roche moutonnée — /rɔʃ mutəˈneɪ/ (say rawsh moohtuh nay) noun (plural roches moutonnées /rɔʃ mutəˈneɪ/ (say rawsh moohtuh nay)) a knob or rock rounded and smoothed by glacial action. {French} …  

  • roche moutonnée —   n. n. (pl.    ♦ roches moutonnées pron. same) sheep like rock ; rock rounded by glacial action …   Dictionary of difficult words

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