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A small lake occupying a cirque or corrie hollow in a glaciated mountain is called a:

  1. A.Tarn
  2. B.Kettle lake
  3. C.Fjord
  4. D.Lagoon

Correct answer

A. Tarn

Explanation

The correct answer is A, a tarn. A cirque, also called a corrie, is the armchair-shaped hollow that a glacier scoops at the head of its valley by plucking and abrasion; when the ice melts, water collects in the rock basin and the small round lake so formed is a tarn. Option B is wrong because a kettle lake forms on a deposit of glacial till, where a buried block of ice melts and leaves a hollow, so it belongs to the lowland of deposition rather than to the mountain head. Option C is wrong because a fjord is a deep glacial trough later drowned by the sea, a coastal inlet as on the Norwegian coast. Option D is wrong because a lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from the sea by a sand bar or a coral reef, a coastal feature with no connection to glaciation.

Read the full article: Glaciers of India and the World: Notes for Exams

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