Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
modern Horton River, in the western Canadian Arctic (Mackay and Slaymaker, 1989).
The delta is distinctive on account of its relative absence of vegetation and the numerous
scour troughs and other disturbances at the surface. The major process affecting the
surface morphology is the annual river break-up. The low gradient, numerous channels,
and the presence of sea ice early in the summer means that ice jams commonly form. The
river ice bulldozes, scrapes, and fl utes the delta surface. A further characteristic is that
the surface lacks typical levees because much of the delta fl oods because of the high water
levels induced by the ice dams. It is probable that similar topography and pattern of geo-
morphic change characterize other meso-scale deltas in cold-climates.
ADVANCED READING
John, B. S., Sugden, D. E. (1975). Coastal geomorphology of high latitudes.
Progress in Geography
,
7
, 53-132.
Prowse, T. D., Ommanney, C. S. L., eds. (1990a). Northern hydrology. Canadian perspectives.
National Hydrology Research Institute, Environment Canada, science report no. 1, 208 pp.
Prowse, T. D., Ommanney, C. S. L., eds. (1990b). Northern hydrology. Selected perspectives.
National Hydrology Research Institute, Environment Canada, science report no. 6, 532 pp.
Seppälä, M. (2004).
Wind as a Geomorphic Agent in Cold Climates
. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, 358 pp.
DISCUSSION TOPICS
1. What is the importance of fl uvial processes in fashioning periglacial landscapes?
2. How similar are the channel and valley forms of periglacial and non-periglacial
environments?
3. What is the importance of wind in periglacial landscape evolution?
4. How unusual are the coastal processes and landforms of cold environments?
