An ice-directed lee-side channel (Nye channel) south of Carn Eilrig
Right - moraines and meltwater channels viewed from Coire na Ciste. The landforms relate to the thinning of ice in the Glenmore basin.
Cross section of the Eag a' Chait meltwater channel (X)
Channel systems between Glen Feshie and Strath Nethy, from Sugden and John 1976.
The scree-covered floor and cross section of the
Chalamain Gap
Right - ice-directed channels cut through the ridge, with the Allt
Mhor ice-marginal channel in the right foreground
Notches cut by meltwater channels in the ridge east of the Lairig Ghru. X - Eag a' Chait.
MWCs, eskers and kames in Glenmore, after Young 1964
Continuation of the Strath Spey ice margin to the north
Meltwater channels: northern Cairngorms
Significance: the car parks in the ski area provide excellent vantage points for viewing the extensive meltwater channel systems of the northern Cairngorms
The channels were cut by meltwater from the Strath Spey glacier as it flowed SW-NE along the northern face of the Cairngorms. As the ice thinned, networks of channels were cut at progressively lower levels.
The highest channels are found at up to 750 m. These ice-directed channels include the Chalamain Gap and are cut through interfluves, seen as notches on the skyline. The rock channels have floors with up-down profiles and so must relate to meltwater flowing under pressure. The latest phase of erosion occurred when the surface of the Strath Spey ice lobe was at >800 m against the flank of the mountains.
