Lake District Case Study: Glacial Formations

The Lake District National Park in Cumbria, North West England, is a scenic region known for its lakes, mountains and forests, along with features created by glaciers. It was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 and holds keys to understanding England’s geological history.

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In this case study, we’ll explore the glacial formations found in the Lake District, their impacts on the region, and management strategies implemented to address the challenges.

Glacial Formations in the Lake District

Helvellyn is one of England’s highest mountains, standing at an impressive 949 metres above sea level. It mainly consists of hard igneous rock and formed around 450 million years ago.

The surrounding landscape and many of Helvellyn’s features were shaped during the last ice age, roughly 20,000 years ago.

Breathtaking landscape from Helvellyn mountain summit, featuring a rugged rocky foreground, green rolling hills in the mid-distance, and a panoramic view of valleys, peaks, and a few fluffy clouds against a blue sky.

Below, we’ll outline some noteworthy glacier-formed landmarks in Helvellyn and the greater Lake District:

Glacial erosional formations

Glacier erosion creates distinct landforms, including a few remarkable examples found in the Lake District:

Corries

Deep hollows, known as corries, were carved into the mountainsides by glacier erosion. One notable example is Red Tarn, which is a corrie lake located on the Eastern side of Helvellyn.

Red Tarn has typical features of a corrie, such as:

A steep back wall constructed by freeze-thaw weathering and plucking

Steep ridges and a lake

For a refresher on these terms, feel free to revisit our pages on glacial processes and landform formations.

Arêtes

The Lake District has several arêtes, which are narrow ridges that form between two glacial valleys due to erosion. Striding Edge and Swirral Edge, both located on Helvellyn, are examples of arêtes.

Aerial view of a clear Red Tarn lake surrounded by green terrain, with a steep rocky ridge to the right and distant valleys and water bodies in the background.

As you can see in the map below, Striding Edge and Swirral Edge are opposite each other, with Red Tarn between them.

Map from ©OpenStreetMaps

U-shaped valleys

U-shaped valleys, also known as glacial troughs, are landforms sculpted by glaciers. Borrowdale is a valley with its iconic ribbon lakes, such as Derwentwater. It is a classic example of a glacial trough.

View of Borrowdale valley, with a calm lake, in the Lake District including reflections of mountains, with different sized pebbles in the foreground and a splash of yellow wildflowers.

Ribbon lakes

Ribbon lakes are long, narrow lakes occupying the deep, U-shaped valleys carved by glacial erosion. One of the largest and most beautiful lakes in the Lake District is Ullswater, which is an example of this type of formation.

Scenic view of the Lake District showcasing lush greenery, with Ullswater lake surrounded by rolling hills and mountains under a blue sky with scattered clouds.

Glacial depositional formations

Glacial depositional formations occur when a moving glacier leaves behind rocks or soil. This happened around 20,000 years ago in the last ice age, shaping several land features in the process.

If any terms confuse you, make sure to revisit our page on Glacial Deposition and Landforms Created.

In the Lake District, you can find moraines, which are piles of rocks and sediment left by glaciers, in areas like Bannerdale and Haweswater. Some of these moraines are now covered with plants.

Drumlins are another formation found at valley bottoms, characterised by their elongated, rounded hill shape created from boulder clay deposits. The Lowther Hills, located near Penrith, are notable drumlin formations in the Lake District.