Which statement about glacial deposits is true?

• A. Till is typically unsorted
• B. Esker formed by wind-blown sand
• C. Moraine forms in water
• D. Drumlin fields are volcanic features

Answer: (A)

Glacial deposits fall into two main types: material deposited directly by ice (till) and material laid down by meltwater (stratified drift). Till is typically unsorted because the glacier transports a mix of particle sizes—from clay to boulders—and drops them together as it melts. There isn’t time or space for sorting, so the deposit is a chaotic, unlayered mixture.

Eskers, on the other hand, are formed by sediments deposited by subglacial or englacial meltwater streams flowing within or beneath the ice, creating long, winding ridges. That process is driven by water, not wind-blown sand.

Moraine deposits come from debris that the glacier has picked up and then drops at its edges or terminus as the ice recedes; they are not formed in water, though meltwater can rework surrounding materials.

Drumlins are streamlined, elongate hills shaped by the movement of ice over tills; they’re not volcanic features.

So the statement that till is typically unsorted best reflects how glacial ice deposits carry and deposit a wide range of grain sizes without sorting.