GeoMiner Free earth-science tools

Built by a geologist

Drumlin identification and geology

A streamlined, elongated hill of glacial till unsorted glacial sediment shaped by the flow of an overriding ice sheet. Drumlins are typically 1–2 km long, 300–600 m wide, and 15–50 m high, with a blunt, steep end stoss side facing the direction from which the ice came and a tapered, gentle end lee side pointing in the direction of ice flow. They commonly occur in swarms of hundreds to thousands. Field: glacial geology. Example: The drumlin field near Peterborough, Ontario, contains thousands of drumlins aligned parallel to the direction of Laurentide Ice Sheet flow during the last glacial maximum.. Related terms: Till, Moraine, Glacial, Esker.

Sources, scope & corrections

These authoritative resources support category-level nomenclature, terminology, identification methods, and safety. When a specimen-specific safety warning appears, the public-health source listed here directly supports that precaution. They are not line-by-line citations for every other property on this entry, and natural specimens vary.

Editorial owner
GeoMiner
Last updated
2026-03-30T15:19:41.999576+00:00
Review status
Published; not independently peer-reviewed
  • USGS Thesaurus — U.S. Geological Survey. Controlled earth-science terminology used to describe USGS information resources.
  • Glossary of Geologic Terms — U.S. National Park Service. Geologic definitions prepared by the NPS Geologic Resources Inventory.

Read GeoMiner's editorial methodology or report a content issue.

Common questions

What does Drumlin mean in geology?
A streamlined, elongated hill of glacial till unsorted glacial sediment shaped by the flow of an overriding ice sheet. Drumlins are typically 1–2 km long, 300–600 m wide, and 15–50 m high, with a blunt, steep end stoss side facing the direction from which the ice came and a tapered, gentle end lee side pointing in the direction of ice flow. They commonly occur in swarms of hundreds to thousands.
What is an example of Drumlin?
The drumlin field near Peterborough, Ontario, contains thousands of drumlins aligned parallel to the direction of Laurentide Ice Sheet flow during the last glacial maximum.
Which earth-science field uses the term Drumlin?
Drumlin is used in glacial geology.
Which terms are related to Drumlin?
Related terms in this reference are Till, Moraine, Glacial, Esker.

JavaScript is loading the interactive GeoMiner experience. The identification tools provide educational candidates, not laboratory confirmation.