| Term: | Cirque |
| Definition: |
Bowl shape or amphitheater usually sculpted out of the mountain terrain by a cirque glacier. NSIDCCryosphere
A deep, steep-walled recess in a mountain, caused by glacial erosion. A bowl-shaped, amphitheater-like depression eroded into the head or the side of a glacier valley. Typically, a cirque has a lip at its lower end. The term is French and is derived from the Latin word circus. Rounded recess on a mountain side formed by glacial action and usually occupied by a glacier. UKAntarcticTerms (from the French) An armchair-shaped hollow with steep sides and back wall, formed as a result of glacial erosion high on a mountainside, and often containing a rock basin with a tarn (q.v.) (known as corrie or cwm in Britain). Swisseduc Glacially eroded rock basin found on mountains. Most alpine glaciers originate from a cirque. PhysicalGeography Located in an arm chair shaped bedrock hollow; No tongue developed, in contrast to simple basin; As wide or even wider as their length; Catchmant area is created through the process of glacial erosion; Occupies a separate, rounded, steep-walled recess which it has formed on a mountain side GLIMSGlacier GCW |