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Difficulty: EasyLandform Development by Wind Action and Glaciation

In a glaciated highland environment, when three or more adjacent cirques erode headwards into a single central mountain mass, which landform is created at the summit?

  1. Pyramidal peakAnswer
  2. B
    Oxbow lake
  3. C
    Scree slope
  4. D
    Delta

Answer

Pyramidal peak
A pyramidal peak (also known as a glacial horn) is formed when three or more cirques erode headward towards a central mountain point, leaving a sharp, steep-sided triangular peak.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the agent of erosion and regional setting.
The process described is glacial erosion (plucking and frost action forming cirques) in a highland region.
Cirques are steep hollows formed by arm-chair shaped glacial accumulation.
2
Analyze the spatial erosion pattern.
When three or more cirques develop back-to-back around a single peak and erode backwards into the mountain mass, a sharp, horn-shaped mountain peak is left behind.
This central remnant peak bounded by steep arêtes is defined geographically as a pyramidal peak.

Key Concept

Glacial Highland Erosional Features
Estimated Time:45s
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Topics

Landform Development by Wind Action and Glaciation

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