A corrie is a bowl-shaped hollow carved by glacier ice high on a mountain, often holding a small lake called a tarn.
If you’ve typed “what is a corrie in geography?” you want a definition for exams and a picture you can spot on a map in class.
A corrie is easy to recognise once you know its parts, but it’s easy to mix up with nearby glacial features. This guide locks in the definition, the parts, and the formation steps so your answers stay specific.
What Is A Corrie In Geography? Clear Definition
A corrie is a rounded, armchair-like hollow near the top of a mountain. In many textbooks, you’ll also see the term cirque; in Scotland the word corrie is common, and in Wales you may hear cwm.
The shape is the clue. A corrie has steep rock walls on three sides and a lower “lip” on the open side where ice once spilled out. After the ice melts, water can sit in the overdeepened basin behind the lip and form a tarn.
Corrie In Geography Meaning And Main Traits
When teachers ask for the “meaning” of a corrie, they want a definition plus parts you can label. If you can name the parts, you can usually earn full marks even if your sketch is rough.
Use the table below as a set of labels and visual clues. It keeps the terms straight and links each part to what the ice did.
| Corrie Part | What You See | What It Tells You |
|---|---|---|
| Back Wall (Headwall) | Near-vertical rock slope at the rear of the hollow | Ice pulled and scraped rock from the steepest side |
| Side Walls | Steep slopes wrapping around the hollow | Freeze-thaw and ice movement kept the bowl widening |
| Bowl Floor | Curved base that can be smooth bedrock or debris | Rotational ice flow scoured and deepened the base |
| Overdeepened Basin | Deeper “scoop” in the middle of the floor | Thicker ice eroded the base more than the lip |
| Lip (Rock Threshold) | Raised rim at the open end of the corrie | Harder rock or less erosion left a step behind |
| Tarn | Small lake sitting in the corrie bowl | Water filled the basin after ice retreat |
| Morainic Dam | Ridge of dumped debris at the corrie outlet | Debris can help hold a tarn in place |
| Arête Nearby | Narrow ridge between two hollows or valleys | Ice on both sides sharpened the ridge line |
| Hanging Valley Link | Small valley entering above a bigger U-shaped valley | Ice depth and erosion differed between valleys |
How A Corrie Forms
A corrie doesn’t appear overnight. It’s carved over repeated cold-season cycles when snow gathers, compacts, and turns into ice that starts to move.
Geographers describe the small glacier that sits in a corrie as a cirque glacier. The NSIDC cirque glossary definition ties the bowl shape to that glacier link.
Here’s a sequence you can write in order. Keep it direct, then add one or two named processes for extra marks.
Step-By-Step Formation
- Snow build-up starts in a sheltered hollow near the ridge. Wind drift and shade help snow stay longer.
- Compaction turns layered snow into firn, then glacier ice as pressure builds.
- Ice movement begins once the mass is thick enough to creep downslope. In a corrie, the flow often curls in a slow rotation.
- Plucking lifts blocks from joints in the bedrock as meltwater refreezes and grips the rock.
- Abrasion grinds the floor as rock fragments at the base drag under moving ice.
- Bowl shaping steepens the headwall and can cut the floor below the outlet rim.
- Retreat and melt leave a basin that can fill with water, leaving a tarn behind the lip.
Two Processes To Name Fast
Plucking And Abrasion
Plucking fits the steep headwall where ice grips cracks and pries blocks away. Abrasion fits the bowl floor where debris scratches and smooths the rock.
If your course mentions a bergschrund, treat it as the crevasse near the top edge of the glacier. Rock exposure near that zone can feed fresh debris into the ice.
Where Corries Sit On A Mountain
Corries usually sit high on a mountainside, close to the zone where snow can last through the warm months. They’re common in ranges that had ice during past cold periods, even if no glacier is there today.
On many mountains, corries form more easily on slopes that stay cooler and catch drifting snow. That helps ice last long enough to carve the bowl deeper.
In the Northern Hemisphere, that often means slopes that face away from the strongest afternoon sun. In the Southern Hemisphere, the pattern flips.
Corrie Clusters And Sharp Ridges
Mountains can have several corries around a summit. When two cut back toward each other, the ridge between them can sharpen into an arête.
When three or more corries bite into one summit block, the peak can end up pointed and steep-sided.
How To Spot A Corrie On A Map Or Photo
Spotting a corrie is a skill you can practise in minutes. Start with the overall outline, then check for the clues that set it apart from a normal hillside hollow.
On photos, look for the armchair shape: a steep back wall, curved sides, and a flatter floor. On maps, the contour pattern does most of the work.
Map Clues You Can Trust
- Tight contours at the back and sides show steep slopes.
- A rounded bowl shows where contours curve into a horseshoe shape.
- A lip shows as a small step at the open end.
- A tarn shows as a small lake in the bowl, often close to the lip.
- Short streams may run from the tarn down into a bigger valley.
Photo Clues That Save You Time
If there’s a lake, it often sits like a dark oval in the base of the bowl. The headwall can look like a curved cliff band, with loose rock below it from frost-shattered blocks.
Check the outlet too. A corrie’s open end is usually lower and smoother, since ice moved out that way.
Corrie Links To Glaciers And Ice Flow
A corrie is tied to a small glacier that once sat in it. You’ll also see corries at the start of longer glacial valleys where ice grew and then flowed downhill as a valley glacier.
The U.S. Geological Survey gives a description of cirque glaciers in its page on park geology. The USGS cirque glacier note links the bowl shape to the glacier that occupies it.
This link between landform and ice type helps in marking schemes. It shows you can connect the bowl to the wider valley below.
Corrie Versus Other Glacial Landforms
Glacial landforms cluster together, so mix-ups are common. The trick is to tie each landform to its position on the mountain and its shape on a map. Use this comparison table to keep the terms separate during revision.
| Landform | How It Differs From A Corrie | Common Exam Clue |
|---|---|---|
| Cirque | Same landform; “cirque” is the wider term | Often used in global textbooks |
| Tarn | Water feature inside a corrie, not the hollow itself | Small lake behind a rock lip or debris ridge |
| Arête | Ridge between corries or valleys, not a hollow | Sharp ridge line with steep drops on both sides |
| Pyramidal Peak | Summit shaped by several corries cutting into it | Pointed peak with steep faces on multiple sides |
| U-Shaped Valley | Large valley carved by thick moving ice | Wide floor and steep sides, often with truncated spurs |
| Hanging Valley | Small valley that meets a bigger one high above the floor | Waterfall site where a tributary valley enters |
| Truncated Spur | Clipped ridge nose along a U-shaped valley side | Valley sides look “cut off” into steep faces |
| Roche Moutonnée | Smoothed bedrock knob, not a basin | Gentle up-ice slope and steep down-ice face |
| Moraine Ridge | Deposited debris line, not carved bedrock hollow | Ridge of unsorted rock along a valley or outlet |
Common Exam Prompts And Strong Answers
Most exam questions on corries boil down to definition, formation, or identification. If you hit the marking points in a clean order, you can score well even under time pressure. Use the patterns below to keep your writing tight and targeted.
Definition Prompt
Start with one sentence that defines the landform, then add two parts you could label. A solid line sounds like this: “A corrie is a bowl-shaped hollow at the head of a glacial valley, carved by glacier ice.”
Then add: “It has a steep back wall, curved sides, and a rock lip at the outlet.” That’s three labels in one short line.
Formation Prompt
Write the sequence: snow build-up, ice compaction, ice movement, plucking, abrasion, basin deepening, then melt and tarn. If the question asks for processes, name plucking and abrasion and tie them to the headwall and floor.
Keep your verbs active: “Ice plucks blocks from joints,” “debris scrapes the floor,” “erosion cuts the basin below the lip.”
Map Or Photo Prompt
Point to shape and position. Say it sits high on the mountain, it has three steep sides, and it opens downhill.
If there’s a tarn, name it as a clue. On a contour map, name tightly packed contours around a rounded hollow.
Short Answer That Fits Most Mark Schemes
If you’re stuck, use this two-line answer and then add one named process: “A corrie is an armchair-shaped hollow carved by a small glacier near the top of a mountain. Plucking and abrasion steepen the back wall and deepen the bowl, leaving a lip and often a tarn.” That hits definition, location, and formation in a small space.
Field Notes For Students
If you visit a corrie, start with safe viewing points. Steep headwalls shed loose rock, and wet ground around a tarn can be slippery.
Bring a simple sketch plan. Draw the bowl, mark the lip, and add arrows that show where ice would have moved out. If your course includes measurements, pace out the width of the floor, estimate slope angles with a clinometer, and note rock changes near the lip.
Quick Sketch Labels
- Headwall
- Side wall
- Bowl floor
- Lip or threshold
- Tarn (if present)
- Outlet stream
Revision Checklist Before You Write
Before you hand in an answer, run this check in your head. It takes seconds and keeps you from losing marks on missing labels.
- Did you define a corrie as a glacially carved bowl near a mountain top?
- Did you name at least two parts you could label on a diagram?
- Did you mention plucking and abrasion, or at least one of them?
- Did you link the lip and tarn to erosion and melt?
- Did your final sentence match the task set by the question?
Still unsure? Re-read the definition and both tables. Then answer “what is a corrie in geography?” in three clean sentences.