9.1.7. Hanging Valley

Just like tributary streams of river, there are tributary glaciers also which join the main glacier after moving over their mountainous path. These tributary glaciers like the main glaciers carve U - shaped valleys. However, they have less volume of ice than the main glaciers and thus their rate of erosion is less rapid. As a result their valleys are smaller and not as deep as that of the main glacier. Due to this difference in deepening; the valley of the tributary glacier is left at a higher level than that of the main glacier. The valley of the tributary glacier just looks like hanging downwards at the point of its confluence with the main valley. This type of a topographical feature is called a hanging valley. This feature is visible when ice has melted in both the valleys. When the ice in the hanging valley melts, a waterfall is formed at the point of confluence of this stream with the main river.