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Home / IAS Preparation / Cirque

Cirque - Important Notes on Glacial Landforms for UPSC Exams!

Last Updated on Nov 01, 2023
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Cirque is a type of erosional landform that is created by the Glaciers, which dominantly occur in high mountainous areas. A Cirque landform is a kind of hollow basin that is of a bowl shape and is cut into a mountain ridge. It is also known as “Corrie” in Scotland and “cwm” in Wales, England. It is a distinctive glacial landform characterized by a steep, amphitheatre-like basin or hollow with steep, often vertical, walls. These formations are typically found in high mountain regions and are a result of glacial erosion. Cirques are often the starting point for the formation of larger glacial features like valleys and are a key component of alpine landscapes, shaping the topography of mountainous areas.

This article on the Cirque landform will help you to prepare for your UPSC IAS/IPS exam, which falls under General Studies Paper 1 (Mains) and General Studies Paper 1 (Prelims), particularly in the Geography section. 

This article will discuss in a detailed way about the Cirque landform, the Genesis of the Cirque, the Geographical Topography of Cirques, and the Features Of the Cirque landform. We will also learn about the List of notable Cirques around the world.

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What is a Cirque?
  • Cirque is a kind of erosional glacial landform that is created naturally by the action of Glaciers. Cirque is a valley that is formed by the phenomenon of glacial erosion.
  • The meaning of the word “Cirque ” is an amphitheater. Cirque looks like a half-opened amphitheater. It is also referred to as “Corrie” in Scotland and “cwm” in Wales, England.
  • Cirque landforms are deep, long, horseshoe-shaped, and wide troughs or basins with steep to vertically plunging high walls at their head and flanks.
  • Cirques generally have a North or North-Eastern orientation to shelter from the sun’s rays.

Check out the Syllabus, Strategy, and Important Preparation tips to cover Geography for the UPSC Civil Services exam.

What is a Glacier?

  • Glaciers are large masses of ice, which are moving as sheets over the land or in linear movement stepping down the slopes of mountains through valleys. These glaciers are spread over the plains at the foot of the mountains.
  • The force responsible for the movement of glaciers is Gravitational force.
  • Glaciers cause tremendous erosion which leads to the formation of various landforms. These Glacial landforms are classified into two following types –
  • Erosional landforms
  • Depositional landforms
  • Erosional landforms – The landforms which are created by the erosion of glaciers and glacial material are known as Glacial Erosional Landforms. The Glacial erosional landforms include – Cirque/Corrie, Horn and Serrated Ridges, Glacial Valleys or Troughs, D-Fjord, and Arete.
  • Depositional landforms – The landforms which are created by the deposition of glaciers and glacial material are known as Glacial Depositional Landforms. The Glacial depositional landforms include – Outwash Plain, Esker, Kame Terraces, Drumlin, Kettle Holes, and Moraine.

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Genesis of Cirque

The genesis of Cirque landform formation is discussed in the following points discussed below:

  • For the genesis of Cirques, the favorable conditions in the northern hemisphere are the north-east slope where they are shielded from the majority of the sun’s heat energy and from the prevailing winds. Hence, it tends to encourage the accumulation of snow.
  • If the accumulation of snow continuously keeps increasing, the snow develops into glacial ice. The next step is inactivation, where ice segregation, weathering, and glacial erosion may cause a hollow in a slope to expand.
  • Ice segregation erodes and disintegrates the vertical rock wall, which may trigger an avalanche to fall and transport more snow and debris to the expanding glacier.
  • This hole may eventually get so large that glacier erosion speeds up. This open-ended concavity expansion expands the leeward deposition zone, speeding up the glacial process. If the ice were to slide down a slope, it would have the effect of sandpaper, scraping against the bedrock below due to debris (or till) in the ice.
  • The mountainside’s hole may eventually take on the shape of a sizable bowl, with the headwall being eroded by plucking as well as weathering from ice segregation.
  • As ice segregation and abrasion continue to degrade the basin, it will get deeper. The size of the cirque will grow if ice segregation, plucking, and abrasion continue, but the portion of the landform will essentially stay the same.
  • Cirques get filled with water as the glacier melts, and these are known as cirque lakes. Tarns and Corrie lakes are other names for Cirque lake.

Geographical Topography of Cirques

The geographical topography associated with the Cirque landforms of glaciers is discussed below. Students are advised to learn the geographical topography of cirques for their UPSC exams.

Arete

Arete is a narrow ridge between two valleys in terms of mountains and glaciers. Usually, two glaciers erode at the same time to create U-shaped valleys, which results in the formation of an arete. The headward erosion of two glacial Cirques is a further important component that contributed to the development of Arete. In particular, this erosion creates Col, a pass that has the shape of a saddle. Frost weathering has sharpened and mass wasting has steepened the Arête. In the glacial Cirques of Nunataks, one can find Arête.

Pyramidal Peak

The Pyramidal Top, as its name suggests, is a high peak with a sharp apex formed by glacial erosion and cirque development. It takes place when several Cirque glaciers split off from a central location. This results in the development of an angular pointed glacier horn or pyramidal peak. The Matterhorn summit in the Alps Mountain range is a well-known illustration of a pyramidal peak.

Stairway Cirque

A stairway Cirque is a landform in which numerous Cirques are stacked sequentially, one above the other to create a stairway-like topography, as implied by the name. Geo-morphodynamic processes like erosion are what give rise to these stairway Cirques. One of the best instances of a stairway Cirque is Zagster Loch. It is located in the Central Uplands of Germany.

Check out the important notes on Continental Drift Theory for the UPSC exam.

Features Of Cirque

The features of the Cirque landform are as follows:

  • Cirques resemble the form of armchair-shaped hollows, with a steep headwall (which often culminates in a sharp ridge or arete) and a gently sloping or over the deepened valley floor.
  • Cirques are significant basins for the accumulation of snow.
  • Types of cirques – Simple cirques, Compound cirques, Cirque complexes, Staircase cirques, Cirque troughs.
  • The direction in which cirque points can tell us about the links between climate and glacier growth in the past.

List of Notable Cirques

Some of the notable cirques around the world is mentioned in the following table given below:

List of notable Cirques

Name of Cirque

Country

Chandra Taal

Himachal Pradesh, India

Western Cwm

Khumbu Himal, Nepal

Cirque Valley

Hindu Kush, Pakistan

Makhtesh Ramon

Negev Desert, Israel

Blue Lake Cirque

Australia

Great Gulf

United States

Iceberg Cirque

United States

Cirque de Navacelles,

France

Circo de Gredos

Spain

We hope all your doubts related to the topic of Cirque are addressed after going through this article. Testbook provides comprehensive notes for Civil services and various other competitive examinations. It has always assured the quality of its product like content pages, live tests, Gk and current affairs, mocks, and so on. Ace your UPSC preparation with Testbook. Download the Testbook App now!

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Cirque- FAQs

Cirque is a type of erosional landform that is created by the Glaciers which dominantly occur in high mountainous areas. A Cirque landform is a kind of hollow basin that is of a bowl shape and is cut into a mountain ridge. It is also known as “Corrie” in Scotland and “cwm” in Wales, England.

Cirque is formed by the process of erosion of glaciers. Ice segregation erodes and disintegrates the vertical rock wall, which may trigger an avalanche to fall and transport more snow and debris to the expanding glacier. Hence, Cirque is formed.

The largest cirque in the world is Severoladozhsky (North Lake Ladoga) cirque. It is also known as Lake Ladoga. Its length and width are close to 100 km.

The meaning of the word “Cirque '' is an amphitheater. Cirque Looks like a half-opened amphitheater. It is also referred to as “Corrie” in Scotland and “cwm” in Wales, England.

Cirque is a type of glacial erosional landform. Other glacial erosional landforms are Horn and Serrated Ridges, Glacial Valleys or Troughs, D-Fjord, Arete.
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