Welcome to VR Glaciers and Glaciated Landscapes!

Our virtual field trips allow you to explore the fascinating and often spectacular world of glaciers and glaciated landscapes. Look all around and zoom-in on features of interest – rather like Google Streetview © – and see how the landscape changes from one location to the next.

Sure, there is no substitute for real fieldwork, but this is not always possible. Through its virtual fieldwork, VR Glaciers and Glaciated Landscapes supports class- and lab-based teaching. It can also be used by anyone wishing to explore these environments for themselves.

This site complements rather than replaces existing resources. So if you want to learn all about glacial processes, landforms and landscapes, start by having a look at some of the excellent websites, textbooks and journal articles out there (see Resources section for some recommendations).

Thank-you for visiting, and I hope you find the resources on this website useful. This is a work in progress, and feedback and suggestions for improvements are welcome.

Des McDougall
Worcester, UK.

Latest Posts

New virtual field trips coming soon

After something of a hiatus due to the pandemic, I’m pleased to announce that there will be two new virtual field trips added to the site soon. One is a guided virtual field trip to Cwm Idwal (Snowdonia National Park, North Wales), which has been produced in collaboration with Dr Lynda Yorke (Bangor). This will

Read More »

EFL Showcase 2020

https://youtu.be/M_r6lh-RZW8?t=14 In September I gave a presentation at the 10th Annual Showcase for the Enhancing Fieldwork Learning project, expertly hosted by the University of Chester. You can watch a recording of my talk above. Perhaps more usefully, the following link takes you to a YouTube playlist where you can watch any or all of the

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Arolla Valley, Switzerland: Virtual Field Trip

• alpine landscapes • glacier retreat • paraglacial reworking • Little Ice Age • moraines • supraglacial environment and processes • glacial erosion • weathering and mass wasting • human impacts •
Virtual field trips from 2006, 2018/19, and 2023!).
updated

Col du Sanetsch, Switzerland: Virtual Field Trip

• alpine landscapes • tourism • settlements • geology and landscape • slope failure • hazards • fluvial landforms • weathering • glaciation •

Ferpècle Valley, Switzerland: Virtual Field Trip

• alpine landscapes • proglacial environment (rivers, sediment, lake) • human impacts • Little Ice Age • moraines • proglacial meltwater channel • paraglacial reworking • glacier terminus •
Grande Dixence, Switzerland: Virtual Field Trip
• HEP • dam • alpine landscapes •
This tour only has 6 stops. It will be developed further when time and finances allow.

Lötschental Valley, Switzerland: Virtual Field Trip

• alpine landscapes • meadows • glaciers • moraines • Little Ice Age • debris cones • snow avalanche tracks and deposits • river • rock slope deformation • cirques • glacial troughs • forests • Little Ice Age •
Moiry Valley, Switzerland: Virtual Field Trip
• alpine landscapes • glacier retreat • Little Ice Age • moraines • paraglacial reworking • talus • debris cones • icefall • supraglacial sediment and ablation • supraglacial meltwater • striae • ice-moulded bedrock • HEP scheme •
** WORKSHEET AVAILABLE **
Roseg Valley, Switzerland: Virtual Field Trip
• alpine landscapes • braided river • moraines • debris cones • alluvial fans • glacier • talus • avalanche tracks • slope failure • Little Ice Age •
Big Pine (Owens Valley, California): Virtual Field Trip
• semi-arid / arid climate • till • moraines • talus • talus cones • snow avalanche (evidence for) • ice-moulded bedrock • rock glacier •

Lyell Canyon (Yosemite NP, California): Virtual Field Trip

• forests • floodplain meadows • river • glacially-transported boulders • glacial trough • talus • snow avalanche tracks • bedrock (granite) • bedrock joints • unloading and exfoliation • ice-moulded bedrock • Matthes glaciation / Little Ice Age • moraines • cirques • glacier • striae • chattermarks •
Tuolumne Meadows (Yosemite NP, California): Virtual Field Trip
• granite landscapes • roche moutonnée • meadows • meandering river • bars • islands • bank erosion • point bars • scroll bars • cutoff meanders •

Helvellyn Range (English Lake District): Virtual Field Trip

• cirques • glacial trough • rock slope failures • moraines • gullies • Younger Dryas • talus • blockfields • debris cones • human impacts •

Keskadale, Newlands Valley (English Lake District): Virtual Field Trip

• moraine • headwall • Younger Dryas • solifluction

Mosedale, Wasdale Head (English Lake District): Virtual Field Trip

• rivers • talus • debris flow tracks • debris cones • moraines • Younger Dryas • glacial troughs •

Cwm Idwal and the Glyderau (Wales): Virtual Field Trip

• cirque • glacial trough • moraines • talus • blockfield • tors • rockfall • Younger Dryas • Late Devensian
NEW

Glen Roy (Scotland): Virtual Field Trip

• glacial lake shorelines • moraines • slope failures • fans • rivers • terraces •
new

Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh (Scotland): Virtual Field Trip

• cirque • moraines • talus • rockfall • debris cones • Younger Dryas
NEW

Additional Resources

Links to other resources that will help you learn about glaciers and glaciated landscapes.

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions...

Acknowledgements

Details on funding and other help.
Dr Des McDougall

Dr Des McDougall

I'm a Physical Geographer at the University of Worcester (England, UK). Interests include mountain glaciers, mountain geomorphology and Quaternary environmental change. I'm also interested in the use of virtual reality in teaching.

Can you help?

In order to support the ongoing development of this site, it would be really helpful if you could let me know why and how you use the resource. I’d also appreciate hearing any ideas you may have for improvements. Thank you!

ABOUT

This website allows you to explore glaciers and glaciated landscapes using virtual field trips. High quality, 360 degree interactive panoramas (panospheres) allow you to look all around and zoom in on features of interest – a bit like Google Streetview ©.

© VR Glaciers and Glaciated Landscapes by Derek McDougall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 International License.

Last updated: May 2022