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meltwater  Braided stream south of the Myrdalsjokull glacier, in southern Iceland. A braided stream or river is one that splits into many channels, leaving lots of bars or islands between the channels. At Myrdalsjokull the melt water river emerging from the glacier carries a huge load of sediment. It flows underneath the glacier under high-pressure conditions. As it escapes from the glacier it is suddenly able to spread out. As the height and velocity of the river is reduced, its energy drops. It begins to deposit its load, the heaviest particles first. | Water produced by the melting of snow and ice, particularly in glaciated areas. Streams of meltwater flowing from glaciers transport rocky materials away from the ice to form outwash. Features formed by the deposition of debris carried by meltwater or by its erosive action are called fluvioglacial features; they include eskers, kames, and outwash plains. |
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