10 Outwash plain and kettle hole (430 m.a.s.l.)

The upper outwash plain lies only 500 m from the present glacier. It was formed mainly between 1940 and 1980. Deposition on the plain has decreased as the glacier front has receded. However, some changes are taking place. During the 1990's, a small, blue-coloured pool suddenly appeared on the southern side of the plain - the ‘blue lagoon’. It occupies a kettle hole, formed when a buried mass of dead ice melted, creating a depression. The blue colour is caused by light refraction by fine particles in the water.

[previous] [map] [next]