Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 1 Date: May 2008 Subject: Geomorphic terms Purpose: Provide standard list of geomorphic terms to use in Region 11 Procedure: Use the following list of Landscape, Landform, Microfeature, and Anthropogenic Feature Terms defined in the National Soil Survey Handbook (NSSH) Glossary (comprehensive alphabetical and subset lists grouped by Geomorphic Process or other Groupings). These lists are the core of the Geomorphic Description System (Schoeneberger and Wysocki, 2002). A) LANDSCAPES - broad or unique groups or clusters of natural, spatially associated features. drumlin field dune field glaciokarst hills (singular = Landform) ice-margin complex karst lake plain (also Landform) outwash plain (also Landform) river valley (also Landform) till plain (also Landform) B) LANDFORMS - discrete, natural, individual, earth-surface features mappable at common survey scales. alluvial fan alluvial flat backswamp bar barchan dune beach beach ridge beach terrace blowout bluff bog braided stream broad interstream divide channel cliff closed depression (also Micro.) collapsed lake plain crevasse filling delta depression disintegration moraine drainageway drumlin drumlinoid ridge dune end moraine escarpment esker fen flat flood plain flood-plain splay flood-plain step foredune free face (also Geom. Comp. - Hills) glacial drainage channel glacial lake (water body) glacial lake [relict] ground moraine head-of-outwash hill hillslope ice-contact slope ice-marginal steam interdrumlin interdune (also Microfeature) interfluve (also Geom. Comp. - Hills) island kame kame moraine kame terrace kettle knob knoll lake (water body) lakebed [relict] lake plain (also Landscape) lake terrace landslide lateral moraine loess bluff loess hill longshore bar [relict] marsh meander scar medial moraine Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 2 monadnock moraine mud flat natural levee open depression (also Micro.) outwash delta outwash plain (also Landscape) outwash terrace overflow stream channel oxbow oxbow lake (water body) oxbow lake (ephemeral) paha parabolic dune patterned ground (also Micro.) pitted outwash plain pitted outwash terrace plain (also Landscape) point bar pothole pothole lake (water body) ravine recessional moraine ridge river (water body) river valley roche moutonnée sand boil scarp scour (mark) seif dune sinkhole slackwater (water body) slough (ephemeral water) slough (permanent water) slump strath terrace stream (water body) stream terrace structural bench swale swamp terminal moraine till-floored lake plain till plain (also Landscape) transverse dune tree-tip mound tree-tip pit tunnel valley tunnel-valley lake (water body) valley train wave-cut platform C) MICROFEATURES - discrete, natural, earth-surface features typically too small to delineate at common survey scales. closed depression (also Landform) gully interdune (also Landform) open depression (also Landform) patterned ground (see below) Patterned ground microfeatures - used in association with the landform “patterned ground”. Periglacial patterned ground microfeatures: ice wedge polygons D) ANTHROPOGENIC FEATURES - discrete, artificial (human-made or extensively modified), earth-surface features. artificial collapsed depression artificial levee beveled cut borrow pit burial mound cut (road, railroad) cutbank ditch dredged channel dredge-deposit shoal dredge spoil bank dump fill filled marshland floodway gravel pit landfill (see sanitary landfill) leveled land log landing midden openpit mine pond (human-made) quarry railroad bed reclaimed land road bed sand pit sanitary landfill scalped area sewage lagoon skid trail spoil bank spoil pile surface mine tillage features (below) truncated soil urban land Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 3 Tillage / Management features (common types): conservation terrace (modern) double-bedding mound drainage ditch furrow hillslope terrace (e.g., archeological features) inter-furrow Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 4 GEOMORPHIC ENVIRONMENTS AND OTHER GROUPINGS - Landscape, Landform, and Microfeature terms grouped by geomorphic process (e.g. Fluvial) or common settings (e.g. Water Bodies). These lists are not mutually exclusive and some features occur in more than one environment or setting. LACUSTRINE - related to inland water bodies. Landscapes: lake plain (also Landform) Landforms: bar beach beach ridge beach terrace bluff delta flat foredune island lakebed [relict] lake plain (also Landscape) lake terrace longshore bar [relict] mud flat oxbow lake (ephemeral) till-floored lake plain wave-cut platform FLUVIAL - dominantly related to concentrated water flow (channel flow); includes erosional and depositional features, but excluding glaciofluvial landforms (see Glacial), and permanent water features (see Water Bodies). Landforms: alluvial fan alluvial flat backswamp bar braided stream channel delta drainageway flood plain flood-plain splay flood-plain step meander scar natural levee overflow stream channel oxbow oxbow lake (ephemeral) point bar ravine river valley strath terrace stream terrace SOLUTION - dominated by dissolution, and commonly, subsurface drainage. Landscapes: glaciokarst karst Landforms: sinkhole EOLIAN - dominantly wind related, erosional or depositional. Landscapes: dune field Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 5 Landforms: barchan dune blowout dune foredune interdune loess bluff loess hill paha parabolic dune seif dune transverse dune Microfeatures: interdune (also Landform) GLACIAL - directly related to glaciers; includes glaciofluvial, glaciolacustrine, glaciomarine, and outwash features. Landscapes: drumlin field glaciokarst hills ice-margin complex outwash plain (also Landform) till plain (also Landform) Landforms: collapsed lake plain crevasse filling disintegration moraine drumlin drumlinoid ridge end moraine esker glacial drainage channel glacial lake [relict] glacial lake (water body) ground moraine head-of-outwash ice-contact slope ice-marginal stream interdrumlin kame kame moraine kame terrace kettle lateral moraine medial moraine moraine outwash delta outwash plain (also Landscape) outwash terrace paha pitted outwash plain pitted outwash terrace pothole recessional moraine roche moutonnée terminal moraine till-floored lake plain till plain (also Landscape) tunnel valley tunnel-valley lake (water body) valley train Microfeatures: swale PERIGLACIAL - related to non-glacial, cold climate (modern or relict), including periglacial forms of patterned ground. Note: consider "patterned ground" as a Landform, but treat specific types of patterned ground, singular or plural, as Microfeatures. Landforms: patterned ground (see Microfeatures for types) Microfeatures: ice wedge polygons Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 6 MASS MOVEMENT (MASS WASTING) - dominated by gravity, including creep forms. Landscapes: these generic Landscapes are not Mass Movement features per say, but are commonly modified by, and include localized areas of, Mass Movement. hills Landforms: landslide slump TECTONIC and STRUCTURAL - related to regional or local bedrock structures, or crustal movement. In Soil Survey, tectonic and structural features are only recognized if they have some expression at or near the land surface. Landscapes: hills Landforms: structural bench Microfeatures: sand boil SLOPE - generic terms or those that describe slope form, geometry, or arrangement of land features, rather than any particular genesis or process. Landscapes: hills Landforms: bluff broad interstream divide cliff escarpment free face (also Geom Comp. – Hills hill (plural = Landscape) hillslope interfluve (also Geom. Comp.- Hills) knob knoll paha plain (plural = Landscape) ridge scarp EROSIONAL – related dominantly to water erosion but excluding perennial, channel flow (i.e. fluvial, glaciofluvial), or eolian erosion. Landscapes: hills Landforms: free face (also Geom. Comp. – Hills monadnock paha structural bench Microfeatures: swale DEPRESSIONAL - low area or declivity features, excluding permanent water bodies. Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 7 Landforms: alluvial flat closed depression (also Micro.) depression drainageway kettle open depression (also Microfeature) pothole (intermittent water; also Landform) ravine swale Microfeatures: closed depression (also Landform) open depression (also Landform) pothole (inter. water; also Landform) tree-tip pit WETLANDS - Related to vegetated and / or shallow wet areas, and wet soils. Provisional list: conventional, geologic definitions; not legalistic or regulatory usage. Landscapes: generally, there is no appropriate Landscape term for wetlands; by default, choose the most appropriate Landscape term from another Process Environment or Other Grouping Landforms: backswamp bog fen marsh mud flat oxbow lake (ephemeral water) pothole (intermittent water) slough (intermittent water) swamp Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 8 WATER BODIES - Discrete “surface water” features, primarily permanent open water, which in Soil Survey Reports are commonly treated as the generic map unit “water” (e.g. lake), or as a spot / line symbol (e.g., perennial stream). Landforms: glacial lake ice-marginal stream lake oxbow lake pothole (lake) (also Micro.) river slackwater slough (permanent water) stream (permanent water) tunnel-valley lake SUBAQUEOUS FEATURES - Discrete, relatively shallow underwater features that commonly can support rooted plants, and adjacent features, ordinarily found below permanent open water. Historically, in Soil Survey Reports these underwater features have been included in the generic map unit "water". Landforms: TBD Microfeatures: TBD Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 9 List of Materials or Material-Related, Structure, or Morphological-Feature Terms Contained in the Glossary. ablation till alluvium backswamp deposit basal till beach sands bedding plane bedrock buried soil chert colluvium conglomerate coprogenous earth coprogenous material diamicton diatomaceous earth discontinuity dolomite (mineral) dolomite (rock) dolostone - NR dredge spoils drift (glacial geology) eolian deposit erratic fill fly ash flowtill formation (stratigraphy) glaciofluvial deposits glaciolacustrine deposits herbaceous peat igneous rock interbedded lacustrine deposit lamella limestone lithologic lodgment till loess marl melt-out till metamorphic rock mine spoil, coal extraction mine spoil, metal-ore extraction mine spoil or earthy fill moraine moss peat muck mucky peat outcrop outwash overburden paleosol peat pedisediment pitted outwash regolith relict soil residuum sandstone sediment sedimentary peat sedimentary rock shale siltstone slip face slope alluvium spoil bank spoil pile stone line subglacial till subglacial melt-out till supraglacial till till (glacial) valley fill valley side alluvium varve welded soil woody peat Genesis - Process Terms and Geologic Time Terms Contained in the Glossary. accretion aggradation alluvial buried colluvial constructional (geomorphology) Region 11 Technical Note – Geomorphic Terms 10 creep cut and fill degradation deposition destructional (geomorphology) discontinuity eolian erosion erosional (geomorphology) fluvial geomorphology glacial glaciation Holocene mass movement pedoturbation Pleistocene Quaternary recent relict scour slope wash stratified stratigraphy subglacial Tertiary weathering welding