Glacial Landforms of Snowdonia

Abstract

Glacial landforms in Snowdonia were first described during the 1830s and initially mistaken for signs of the great Diluvium. As the Glacial Theory became accepted, Darwin (1840), Buckland (1823, 1842), Ramsay (1854), W.M. Davis (1909) and many other eminent scientists recognised its world-class landforms. Local Welsh glaciers, competing with large, Irish Sea basin ice streams during several Quaternary cold stages, created a complex geomorphic and sedimentological record which modern research is clarifying, although several interpretations are still contested. A combination of alpine glaciers and ice sheets have carved landforms deep into Snowdonia’s resistant, Lower Palaeozoic island-arc rocks on a Neogene tectonically uplifted block. The glaciated land system creates the spectacular landscape of the Snowdonia National Park and supports a wide range of research and conservation interests.