Kame
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A kame is a geological feature, an irregularly shaped hill or mound composed of sorted or stratified sand and gravel that is deposited in contact with the glacial ice. It can have an irregular shape. Kames are often associated with kettles, and this is referred to as kame and kettle topography.
When the ice retreats further, the delta kame often collapses. Kame terraces are frequently found along the side of a glacial valley and are the deposits of meltwater streams flowing between the ice and the adjacent valley side.
Kames are sometimes compared to drumlins, but their formation is distinctively different. A drumlin is not originally shaped by meltwater, but by the ice itself and has a quite regular shape. It occurs in fine grained material, such as clay or shale, not in sands and gravels. And drumlins usually have concentric layers of material, as the ice successively plasters new layers in its movement.
Kames are not normally located in proximity to one another, however in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada numerous kames are found nearby, forming the Prosser Archaeological Site. The Fonthill Kame in southern Ontario is in a densely populated area. In the United States examples can be found in Wisconsin and at the Sims Corner Eskers and Kames National Natural Landscape in Washington.
