The Glacial Drifts of the Leinster Mountains

Abstract

Five glacial phases are recognized in the area described. Two of these are represented by the deposits of ice-sheets from the north-east and north-west respectively; the other three were of local origin. The materials composing the drifts differ sufficiently to enable the stratigraphy to be seen clearly. This shows that the local ice caps alternated with the invading ice sheets—which brings out a point of considerable climatological interest in that it is clear that the local ice advanced not simultaneously with the invading ice sheets but alternated with them. The order in which the five phases occurred is well established, but the importance of the intervals between the phases is at present uncertain.