A '''meltwater channel''' (or sometimes a '''glacial meltwater channel''') is a [[Channel (geography)|channel]] cut into [[ice]], [[bedrock]] or [[superficial deposits|unconsolidated deposits]] by the flow of water derived from the melting of a [[glacier]] or [[ice-sheet]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100149126|title=Meltwater channel}}</ref> The channel may form on the surface of, within, beneath, along the margins of or downstream from the ice mass. Accordingly it would be referred to as supraglacial, englacial, subglacial, lateral (or ice-marginal) or proglacial.
Different forms of [[subglacial channel]] are described in glaciological literature including [[subglacial channel#N-channels|Nye or N-channels]], [[subglacial channel#R-channels|Röthlisberger or R-channels]] and [[subglacial channel#H-channels|Hooke or H-channels]].<ref>Walder, J S. 2010. ''Röthlisberger channel theory: its origins and consequences'', US Geological Survey, Cascades Volcano Observatory, https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/39BCA503939401F57BB79A5B0044528D/S0022143000213282a.pdf/rothlisberger_channel_theory_its_origins_and_consequences.pdf.</ref> [[Tunnel valley]] is a related term descriptive of subglacial channels. Some examples of tunnel valleys in northwest England have also been described as [[iceway]]s.<ref>R K Gresswell, 1964 Origins of the Dee and Mersey Estuaries</ref> The depositional landforms known as [[kame]]s and [[esker]]s may often be found in association with meltwater channels.
An [[urstromtal]] is a proglacial or ice-marginal channel common in [[Germany]] and [[Poland]] formed during various of the Pleistocene glaciations which gave rise to the substantial Scandinavian ice sheet. A [[spillway]] is a term sometimes used for a channel carved by water overflowing from, for example, a [[proglacial lake]]. Examples of major [[Glacial lake outburst flood|glacial lake outbursts]] creating spillways along the southern margins of the Laurentide icesheet in North America are documented.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://serc.carleton.edu/vignettes/collection/36631.html|title = Catastrophic glacial-lake outburst spillways: Form and process relationships}}</ref>
Meltwater channels associated with [[glaciers on Mars|glaciation]] have also been identified on [[Mars]].<ref>{{Cite web | title=Mars Global Surveyor - NASA Science | url=https://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/sci/fifthconf99/6237.pdf | access-date=2025-07-04 | website=mars.jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Fluvioglacial landform]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
[[Category:Glacial landforms]]
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