Evidence of Cirque Glaciation in the Falkland Islands

Abstract

The presence of 49 cirques on the Falkland Islands indicates that glacial conditions were prevalent during the Pleistocene. Cirque moraines and glacially eroded valleys also occur. There appear to have been three phases: a period of cirque formation, the growth of local ice caps and subsequent cirque development. Periglacial landforms such as stone runs, stone terraces and stone lobes also developed during the Pleistocene and attained very large dimensions because of the lithology, the relatively small scale of glacierization and the presence of rotted bedrock.