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Environment

Geography word of the week: kame

  • Mar 01, 2016
  • 73 words
  • 1 minutes
Early spring on the Fonthill Kame in Pelham, Ont. The kame is sheltered from southwest winds, making it an ideal spot to grow tender fruit. (Photo: Michael Pardo/Flickr)
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Kame
[k?m]

Definition
An irregularly-shaped hill or ridge of sand or gravel that is deposited by stream water from melting glaciers.

Origin
From the old Scots word for a comb.

Example
The Fonthill Kame in Pelham, Ont. in the Niagara Peninsula was created 13,000 years ago when melt water from the Wisconsin Glacier, which covered Lake Erie and the entire peninsula, deposited sand and gravel, building layers to form the kame.

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