Physics Photo of the Week
September 21, 2012
Glacial Scarps (click on the photo for larger image)
The mountains surrounding Willoughby Lake in Vermont
consistently show steep scarps facing the south (to the left
in the panoramic photo). Many people ask why all the
steep sides face the same direction. The answer is
explained by the glacial history of the area. Between
20,000 and 10,000 years ago the northeastern United States
was covered by a large ice sheet - more than one kilometer
thick - that moved slowly towards the south. The ice
in the glaciers itself does not carve mountains, but the
rocks imbedded in the glaciers, under the tremendous weight
of the ice above, does extensive scraping and cutting
reforming the valleys as well as mountain tops. These
mountains are part of a monolithic granite pluton - perhaps
the core of an ancient volcano about 400 million years
ago. As the millennia passed, glacier erosion has
smoothed over the tops of the mountains. The rounded
tops is characteristic of all the mountains in the northern
Appalachians. However as a hard rock under the weight
of the thick ice scrapes along the top of the pluton, parts
of the pluton are chipped away causing the major
scarps. See the diagram below.
The mountain names in the photo are Mt. Hor - the large
mountain at the left. 
Wheeler Mountain is the just to the
right of center. Mt. Hor used to be called "Whaleback"
in the 18th century and early nineteenth centuries.
The whale's blowhole is the dimple in the top and the
whale's tale is obvious - unnamed in the official
maps. The "snout" of the whale is labeled Bartlett
Mountain. The photo at right shows a view from the
cliffs of Wheeler Mountain showing a south-facing 4 ft scarp
in the granite pluton produced by the rock-chipping by
glaciers. The granite is largely coated with green
lichens. A lichen is a symbionic community of algae
and fungi.
I learned of the theory of the steep leeward sides of
mountains formed by glaciers from a short Chautauqua-style
course, Glaciers in Alaska, led by Dr. Kristine J.
Crossen, a geology professor at the University of
Alaska, Anchorage. Many thanks to Dr. Crossen for an
informative 3 days in June, 2012!
Physics Photo of the Week is published weekly during the academic year on Fridays by the Warren Wilson College Physics Department. These photos feature interesting phenomena in the world around us. Students, faculty, and others are invited to submit digital (or film) photographs for publication and explanation. Atmospheric phenomena are especially welcome. Please send any photos to dcollins@warren-wilson.edu.
All photos and discussions are copyright by Donald Collins or by the person credited for the photo and/or discussion. These photos and discussions may be used for private individual use or educational use. Any commercial use without written permission of the photoprovider is forbidden.
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