In geology, a proglacial lake is a lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine during the retreat of a melting glacier, a glacial ice dam, or by meltwater trapped against an ice sheet due to isostatic depression of the crust around the ice. At the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago, large proglacial lakes were a widespread feature in the northern hemisphere.
Argentinian proglacial lakes: Lago Viedma (middle), Lago Argentino (left) and Lago San Martin (right). Retreating glaciers are visible at the top.
Tarn—a proglacial lake impounded by the terminal moraine of the retreating Schoolroom Glacier in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Lake Blåvatnet in Lyngen Alps, Norway located below Lenangsbreene glaciers and surrounded by several moraines formed during Younger Dryas and early Holocene
The Hubbard Glacier closed off the Russell Fjord from Disenchantment Bay in 2002 to cause the waters behind the glacier to rise 61 feet (19 m) over 10 weeks in a proglacial lake until they broke through.
Tasman Lake is a proglacial lake formed by the recent retreat of the Tasman Glacier in New Zealand's South Island.
Lake Tasman and Mount Cook
Tour boat among the icebergs on Tasman Lake
Tasman Lake viewed from near its outlet (right), in spring 2010
