Further glacial tills on Exmoor, southwest England: implications for smallice cap and valley glaciation

This paper discusses glacial deposits down valley of the Punchbowl cirque b asin on Winsford Hill, Exmoor. Geomorphological mapping, lithostratigraphic logging and sedimentological analyses have differentiated basin floor land form assemblages lying down valley of the Punchbowl terminal moraine ridge to include: subglacial diamict, periglacial solifluctate and fluvial deposi ts. Local ice cover at some stage during the Quaternary appears to have bee n more extensive than hitherto believed, and most probably extended to a sm all ice cap on the broad plateau surface of Winsford Hill at just over 400 m OD. It is concluded that other plateau surfaces on Exmoor at similar alti tudes may also have nurtured ice caps at certain times during the Quaternar y. These findings further suggest that the long-held view of Dartmoor as an unglaciated upland region may need re-evaluating.