Which glacial deposit is stratified, serpentine-shaped?

• A. Eskers
• B. Moraine
• C. Till
• D. Talus

Answer: (A)

Understanding glacial deposits involves recognizing how sediment texture and the shape of the feature reveal how it formed. Stratified deposits show layering from flowing water sorting sediments, while till and moraine are typically unsorted mixtures deposited directly by ice.

Eskers are long, winding ridges formed by sediment carried by meltwater streams that run within subglacial tunnels. As the water streams move through these channels, they sort the sediment by size, producing layered, well-sorted material. The path of the subglacial channel itself creates a serpentine (meandering) ridge once the ice retreats, giving eskers their characteristic winding shape. This combination of stratification and a serpentine form is what sets eskers apart from other glacial deposits.

Moraine and till are deposits left by ice but are not layered in the same way; they tend to be clastic, unsorted accumulations. Talus is rock debris that accumulates at the base of cliffs, not a glacial deposition feature.