glacial polish

plural glacial polishes

1. uncountableusuallyThe appearance of rock after having been worn smooth by a passing glacier.

   Glacial polish on lee surfaces may reflect this sorting.

   2002, John Menzies, Modern and Past Glacial Environments: Revised Student Edition

   2 more examples

   Tenaya Lake was at one time under as much as 2,460 feet of glacial ice that produced a pressure of about 74 tons per square foot and extensive glacial polish (fig. 18).

   2001, Bill Guyton, Glaciers of California

   However, in Canada and Northern Europe—where they are known collectively as "shields"—the basement formations stretch out in the lowlands, smoothed by glacial polish.

   1953, Hans Cloos, Conversation with the Earth