Landscapes of glacial erosion

Erosional landforms are influenced by a variety of factors.The pre-existing topography determines much of a landform's characteristics. Bedrock types determine the relative erodibility of the landscape being affected by glaciation. The landforms themselves are created through the combination of a variety of erosional processes such as abrasion, plucking, and mass wasting. These processes dramatically change the underlying topography to create the unique landforms and landscape explained on this page
Other important aspects to consider are the morphology and flow of the ice itself. These characteristics differ greatly between alpine glaciers and continental ice sheets. Generally, alpine environments are typically associated with a greater degree of erosional forms. Glaciated alpine landscapes exhibit a terrain marked by stark contrasts in terms of elevation and shape. On the other hand, landscapes which have been glaciated by continental ice sheets are generally associated with depositional features as the dominant forms. It is true that the relative size of ice sheets does account for a great amount of erosion, yet, the dominant influence is one in which the terrain is evened out, eroding high points and filling in low points.

Cirque Morphology
Alpine and Valley Glacier Morphology
Continental Ice Sheet Morphology