Arete
Also called: Serrated ridge · Topic: Landforms and their Evolution: Rivers, Groundwater, Glaciers, Waves and Wind · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Landforms and their Evolution"
Meaning
An arete is a narrow ridge with a very sharp crest and a jagged, saw-toothed outline. It forms between two cirques, which are armchair-shaped hollows cut by ice at the head of a glacial valley. Glaciers in neighbouring cirques cut back into the mountain from opposite sides. As the cirque walls wear back, the rock between them is left as a thin knife-edge ridge with a zig-zag line. Aretes are a sure sign that a mountain area was once glaciated.
Example
Striding Edge in the Lake District, England, is a well-known arete. It is a narrow rocky ridge between two cirques on the mountain Helvellyn.
Don't confuse with
- Horn: a sharp pointed peak formed where three or more cirques meet. An arete is a ridge between cirques, and several aretes often lead up to a horn.
Related concepts
- Glacier
- Valley glacier
- Continental glacier
- Plucking
- Cirque
- Tarn
- Horn
- U-shaped valley
- Hanging valley
- Truncated spur