Zungenbecken

The Tollensesee, a glacial finger lake

Map of the Ammersee showing its elongated shape

A Zungenbecken, also called a tongue basin^[1] or tongue-basin,^[2] is part of a succession of ice age geological landforms, known as a glacial series. It is a hollow that is left behind by the ice mass, as the snout of the glacier (German: Gletscherzunge, lit. 'glacier tongue') recedes, which initially fills with meltwater, forming a proglacial lake, and later may be filled with surface water from streams or precipitation. When the glacier has more fully retreated this produces a finger lake or glacial piedmont lake (German: Zungenbeckensee, known as a Gletscherendsee of the glacial series in the Alpine Foreland). The term Zungenbecken is of German origin, but used in English language sources.^[3][4][5]

Examples are the Tegernsee, Ammersee, Starnberger See, Lake Constance, Chiemsee, Tollensesee and the Baltic Sea.

See also

• Glacier
• Drumlin

References

1. Kohl, Horst; Marcinek, Joachim and Nitz, Bernhard (1986). Geography of the German Democratic Republic, VEB Hermann Haack, Gotha, p. 40. ISBN 978-3-7301-0522-1.
2. Dickinson, Robert E (1964). Germany: A regional and economic geography (2nd ed.). London: Methuen, p. 32. ASIN B000IOFSEQ.
3. Somme, Axel (1968). A geography of Norden: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Heinemann p. 213.
4. Pfeil (1995). Quaternary field trips in Central Europe, International Union for Quaternary Research, XIV International Congress, August 3–19, 1995, Berlin, Germany, Volume 2.
5. Charlesworth, J.K. (1966). The Quaternary Era: With Special Reference to its Glaciation, in Two Volumes (Volumes 1–2)