Glacial Varve Landscape

This is a landscape composed of striped mud layers deposited in glacial melt lakes. Glaciers melt rapidly during the summer, and in the presence of abundant meltwater, large quantities of sand and mud are transported to the lake. The sand or silt grains rapidly sink to the bottom, but the clayey particles float in the water. During the winter, the floating clay gradually settles on the sand, forming a yearly depositional layer of coarse and fine grains. This process repeats every year and forms glacial varves with alternating bands. Varves are also called seasonal mud.