MORAINE

The name given in Switzerland and Savoy to the longitudinal deposits of stony detritus which are found at the bases and along the edges of all the great glaciers. The formation of these deposits are explained by Profe or Aga iz as follows: — The glaciers, it is well known, are continually moving downwards, in consequence, probably, of the introduction of water into their fi ures, which, in freezing, expands the ma ; and the ice being thus loosened or detached from the rocks below, is continually pre ed forward by its own weight. [s. 783]