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Glacial till is in fact very commonly used in building. It is over consolidated and so is very stiff making it a very good founding material as there is very little settlement.

This also means that it has a very high shear strength by the standards of soils so can be used to form very stable embankments and cuttings.

There can however be practical problems with the use of glacial tills as there may be large cobble and boulder sized clasts within the clay matrix which can make excavation of cuttings difficult and also hamper the driving of piles for deep foundations.

Also some clays (which may be present in glacial till) are more "active" than others. Activity in this context is a term used to describe their shrink swell potential, as some clays undergo significant volume changes depending on their moisture content. This can cause cyclical shrinking and swelling of the clay / glacial till depending on seasonal variations in rainfall and temperatures.

In embankments and cuttings, this deformation leads to a strain softening behaviour which can ultimately result in the formation of a slip surface causing a failure in slopes.

In founding materials composed of glacial till, this behaviour can lead to differential settlements that can cause damage to structures and underground services.

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Q: Why is glacial till unsuitable for building?
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Related questions

Can you describe a till?

Till could be referring to a shortened version of until, or a glacial till which is unsorted glacial sediment.


What is unsorted rock material that is deposited by ice when the ice melts?

The unsorted rock material deposited by ice when it melts is called glacial till. Glacial till can vary in size from clay to boulders and is typically a mixture of rock types that were picked up and carried by the moving glacier.


How is moraine formed?

glacial till.


How do you determine glacial till?

Glacial till is determined by examining the size and composition of the sediment deposited by glaciers. It typically consists of a mix of different sizes of rocks, gravel, sand, and clay. Additionally, glacial till may exhibit angular and unsorted characteristics due to the unsorted manner in which it is deposited by glacial ice.


What is a glacial till?

Glacial till is a type of sediment deposited by glaciers through the process of erosion and transportation. It is a mixture of different sized particles, ranging from clay to boulders, that is left behind as the glacier melts. Glacial till is an unsorted and unstratified deposit.


What are examples of till moraine and kettle?

Glacial weathering forms till moraine kettles and also kettles lakes. More specifically the acts of glacial depositionforms these.


What terms describe all types of glacial?

till


How does glacial till differ from stratified drift describe one glacial feature made of each type of glacial drift?

Glacial till is unsorted and unstratified sediment deposited directly by a glacier, while stratified drift is sorted and stratified sediment deposited by glacial meltwater. An example of glacial till is a moraine, which is a ridge of mixed debris left behind by a moving glacier. An example of stratified drift is an outwash plain, which is a flat, gently sloping area formed by the deposition of sorted sediments carried by glacial meltwater.


What is the term for all sediments of glacial origin?

Glacial deposits or glacial drift refer to all sediments of glacial origin. These deposits include materials such as till, moraines, outwash plains, and glacial erratics that are left behind by the movement of glaciers.


What are two typyes of glacial deposits?

Two types of glacial deposits are moraines, which are formations of mixed sediment pushed by and deposited from a glacier, and drumlins, which are elongated hills made of glacial till that form parallel to the direction of ice flow.


What is the sediment laid down by glacial meltwater?

The sediment laid down by glacial meltwater is called glacial outwash or till. Glacial outwash consists of sorted sediments like sand, gravel, and silt that are deposited by flowing water, while till is unsorted sediment deposited directly by the glacier as it melts and retreats.


The mixture of sediments deposited directly by a glacier is called?

Sediments directly deposited by the glacier are called till.