Final answer:
The term 'cirque' refers to a rounded indentation created by a glacier on a mountainside. Features commonly created by alpine glaciers include horns, arêtes, cirques, moraines, and hanging valleys. Valley glaciers carve U-shaped valleys as they flow between mountain walls.
Step-by-step explanation:
The term cirque refers to a rounded indentation in a mountainside that was formed by a glacier. It is a bowl-shaped, amphitheater-like depression that glaciers carve into the mountain scape. Cirques are typically found at the head of glacial valleys.
Common features created by alpine glaciers include:
- Horn: A sharp peak formed where the back walls of several cirques intersect.
- Arête: A knife-edge ridge that forms between two glacial valleys or cirques.
- Cirque: A bowl-shaped basin carved by a glacier.
- Moraine: An accumulation of glacial debris (till) that occurs in both currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions.
- Hanging valley: A valley carved by a small glacier that joins with a valley carved by a larger glacier below it, often creating a waterfall.
A valley glacier is a glacier that flows down between the walls of a valley, often originating from a cirque at the valley head or from a plateau ice cap. This erosion process results in characteristic U-shaped valleys, which are distinct from V-shaped valleys eroded by rivers.