A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an

outwash plain An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and c ...

formed by retreating

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s or draining

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

waters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of

dead ice Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

left behind by retreating glaciers, which become surrounded by

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

deposited by meltwater streams as there is increased friction. The ice becomes buried in the sediment and when the ice melts, a depression is left called a kettle hole, creating a dimpled appearance on the outwash plain.

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s often fill these kettles; these are called kettle hole lakes. Another source is the sudden drainage of an ice-dammed lake. When the block melts, the hole it leaves behind is a kettle. As the ice melts, ramparts can form around the edge of the kettle hole. The lakes that fill these holes are seldom more than deep and eventually fill with sediment. In acid conditions, a kettle bog may form but in alkaline conditions, it will be kettle peatland.

Overview

Kettles are fluvioglacial landforms occurring as the result of blocks of ice calving from the front of a receding

and becoming partially to wholly buried by glacial outwash.

Glacial outwash An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and ca ...

is generated when streams of meltwater flow away from the glacier and deposit sediment to form broad outwash plains called sandurs. When the ice blocks melt, kettle holes are left in the sandur. When the development of numerous kettle holes disrupt sandur surfaces, a jumbled array of ridges and mounds form, resembling kame and kettle topography. Kettle holes can also occur in ridge shaped deposits of loose rock fragments called

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

.Tarbuck, E and Lutgens, F: ''Earth'', page 351. Prentice Hall, 2002 Kettle holes can form as the result of floods caused by the sudden drainage of an ice-dammed lake. These floods, called

jökulhlaup A jökulhlaup ( ) (literally "glacial run") is a type of glacial outburst flood. It is an Icelandic term that has been adopted in glaciological terminology in many languages. It originally referred to the well-known subglacial outburst flood ...

s, often rapidly deposit large quantities of sediment onto the sandur surface. The kettle holes are formed by the melting blocks of sediment-rich ice that were transported and consequently buried by the jökulhlaups. It was found in field observations and laboratory simulations done by Maizels in 1992 that

rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * "O'er the Ramparts We Watched" is a key line from "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the ...

s form around the edge of kettle holes generated by jökulhlaups. The development of distinct types of ramparts depends on the concentration of rock fragments contained in the melted ice block and on how deeply the block was buried by sediment. Most kettle holes are less than two kilometres in diameter, although some in the U.S. Midwest exceed ten kilometres.

Puslinch Lake Puslinch Lake is a kettle lake located in Wellington County, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest kettle lake in Canada. The lake is "private", according to Puslinch Township Council, but some public access (beach and boat launch) was available nea ...

in Ontario, Canada, is the largest kettle lake in Canada spanning . Fish Lake in the north-central Cascade Mountains of the U.S. state of Washington is . Kettle-glacial-lake-form-isunngua-greenland

Kettle-glacial-lake-form-isunngua-greenland

The depth of most kettles is less than ten meters. In most cases, kettle holes eventually fill with water, sediment, or vegetation. If the kettle is fed by surface or underground rivers or streams, it becomes a kettle lake. If the kettle receives its water from

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

, the groundwater table, or a combination of the two, it is termed a kettle pond or kettle wetland, if vegetated. Kettle ponds that are not affected by the groundwater table will usually become dry during the warm summer months, in which case they are deemed

ephemeral Ephemerality (from the Greek word , meaning 'lasting only one day') is the concept of things being transitory, existing only briefly. Academically, the term ephemeral constitutionally describes a diverse assortment of things and experiences, fr ...

Bogs

If water in a kettle becomes

acidic In computer science, ACID ( atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability) is a set of properties of database transactions intended to guarantee data validity despite errors, power failures, and other mishaps. In the context of databases, a ...

due to decomposing organic plant matter, it becomes a kettle bog; or, if underlying soils are

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

-based and neutralize the acidic conditions somewhat, it becomes a kettle

peatland A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...

. Kettle bogs are

closed ecosystem Closed ecological systems (CES) are ecosystems that do not rely on matter exchange with any part outside the system. The term is most often used to describe small, manmade ecosystems. Such systems are scientifically interesting and can potentia ...

s because they have no water source other than precipitation. Acidic kettle bogs and fresh water kettles are important ecological niches for some symbiotic species of flora and fauna. Kettle pond Hossa

The

Kettle Moraine Kettle Moraine is a large moraine in the state of Wisconsin, United States. It stretches from Walworth County in the south to Kewaunee County in the north. It has also been referred to as the ''Kettle Range'' and, in geological texts, as the ' ...

, a region of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

covering an area from Green Bay to south-central Wisconsin, has numerous kettles, moraines and other glacial features. It has many kettle lakes, some of which are 100 to deep.

Examples

The

Prairie Pothole Region The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR; french: Région des cuvettes/fondrières des prairies) is an expansive area of the northern Great Plains that contains thousands of shallow wetlands known as potholes. These potholes are the result of glacier ac ...

extends from northern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada to

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, United States and includes thousands of small sloughs and lakes. *Austria ** Meerauge, Bodental **

Zmulner See Zmulner See is a mire lake in Carinthia, Austria. It is located in the upper Glan valley, near the municipality of Liebenfels Liebenfels ( sl, Lepo Polje) is a market town in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in the Austrian state of Cari ...

, Carinthia (Kärnten) *Canada **

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

***

Algonquin Park, Spruce Bog trail Algonquin or Algonquian—and the variation Algonki(a)n—may refer to: Languages and peoples *Algonquian languages, a large subfamily of Native American languages in a wide swath of eastern North America from Canada to Virginia ** Algonquin l ...

*** Bond Lake *** Heart Lake *** Kettle Lakes Provincial Park ***

Lake Wilcox Lake Wilcox is a kettle lake in the Oak Ridges neighbourhood of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. The lake measures 1.5 kilometers across and covers 55.6 hectares or 0.55 square kilometres, making it the largest kettle lake on the Oak R ...

*** Musselman Lake *** Preston Lake ***

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

***MacLaren Pond,

Fundy National Park Fundy National Park is a national park of Canada located on the Bay of Fundy, near the village of Alma, New Brunswick. It was officially opened on 29 July 1950. The park showcases a rugged coastline which rises up to the Canadian Highlands, the ...

*Finland ** Syvyydenkaivo, Rokua National Park *Germany ** Eggstätter Seen, Bayern **

Müggelsee The Müggelsee (), also known as the Großer Müggelsee, is a natural lake in the eastern suburbs of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It is the largest of the Berlin lakes by area, with an area of , a length of The lake is in the Berlin d ...

, Berlin ** Oberwaldbacher See, Bayern **

Osterseen Osterseen is a group of lakes in Bavaria, Germany, about 50 km (31 miles) south-south-west of Munich. At an elevation of 588 m (1,929 feet), its surface area is 223.55 ha (552.4 acres). Islands sorted by water body: Großer Ostersee (isla ...

, Bayern ** Schluisee, Bayern **

Seeoner Seen Seeon Lakes (''German: Seeoner Seen'') is a small group of Kettle (landform), kettle lakes in Bavaria, Germany. It is located north of Lake Chiemsee in the district of Traunstein (district), Traunstein. The lakes are protected as the nature rese ...

, Bayern **

Teupitzer See Teupitzer See is a lake in

, Brandenburg ** Tüttensee, Bayern **

Ukleisee Ukleisee is a lake in Kreis Ostholstein, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most po ...

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

** Weisser See, Berlin *India ** Sela Pass, Arunachal Pradesh *New Zealand ** Lake Matheson *United Kingdom **England ***

Aqualate Mere Aqualate Mere, in Staffordshire, is the largest natural lake in the English Midlands and is managed as a national nature reserve (NNR) by Natural England. The Mere lies within the borough of Stafford in Staffordshire, England, some east ...

, Staffordshire *** Barelees Pond,

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land ...

*** Breckland,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

/ Suffolk called ''pingo ponds''. ***

Bomere Pool Bomere Pool is a large mere lying between the villages of Bayston Hill and Condover in the county of Shropshire, England, 4.7 miles (7.5 kilometres) south of the county town of Shrewsbury. The pool is classified as a Site of Special Scientifi ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

*** Campfield Kettle Hole, Northumberland *** Hatchmere, Cheshire *** Talkin Tarn,

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. C ...

***

Wormingford Wormingford is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The ancient parish of Wormingford on the south bank of the River Stour, north- west of Colchester and south-east of Sudbury, Suffolk, covered 2,322 acres (929 hectares). The Stour ...

Mere,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

*** Belston Loch *** Blae Loch ***

Helenton Loch Helenton Loch was situated in a low lying area between the farms and dwellings of Helentongate, Mains, and Burnbank in the Parish of Symington, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The loch was natural, sitting in a hollow, a kettle hole, created by glaciat ...

*** Loch Brown ***

Loch Fergus Loch Fergus (NS 3932 1823) is a freshwater post-glacial "Kettle Hole" sometimes recorded as Fergus Loch. It is quite visible and is situated in a low-lying area close to the B742 road between the farms and dwellings of Trees, Lochfergus and Bowma ...

***

Loch Morlich Loch Morlich (Scottish Gaelic, ''Loch Mhùrlaig'') is a freshwater loch in the Badenoch and Strathspey area of Highland, Scotland near Aviemore. The loch is home to a watersports centre with kayaking, sailing and windsurfing among the activities ...

*United States **

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

*** Volo Bog **

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

*** Pinhook Bog **

*** Clear Lake **

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

***

Cliff Pond Cliff Pond is a kettle pond in Brewster, Massachusetts. It is the largest pond in Nickerson State Park and is quite popular with swimmers and fishermen in summer months. Cliff Pond was totally reclaimed in 1960 and, like many kettle ponds has ...

*** Fresh Pond ***

Jamaica Pond Jamaica Pond is a kettle lake, part of the Emerald Necklace of parks in Boston designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. The pond and park are in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, close to the border of Brookline. It is the source of the M ...

*** Houghton's Pond *** Scargo Lake ***

Spy Pond Spy Pond, also known as Spie Pond in the 17th and 18th centuries, is a kettle hole pond located near the heart of Arlington, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Minuteman Bikeway. History Geological history Fifty thousand years ago, the area of Ar ...

***

Walden Pond Walden Pond is a pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in the United States. A famous example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. The pond is protected as part of Walden Pond State Reservation, a state pa ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

*** Heart Lake ***Tee Lake ***

Thumb Lake Thumb Lake, also known as Lake Louise by the "Lake Louise Camp" community, is a kettle lake located in Hudson Township, Charlevoix County, Michigan. The epithet ''Thumb Lake'' derives from the lake's bathymetry. An islet protrudes from the lake ...

*** Walled Lake **

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

*** Philbrick-Cricenti Bog *** Ponemah Bog *** Spruce Hole Bog ** New York *** Artist Lake *** Lake Success *** Mendon Ponds *** Ronkonkoma Lake *** Round Lake, Saratoga County **

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

*** Brady Lake ***

Calamus Swamp Calamus Swamp is a public preserve located from Circleville in Pickaway County, Ohio, United States. It has a natural kettle lake/wetland and is owned by the Columbus Audubon, the local chapter of Audubon. History Calamus Swamp includes t ...

*** Lake Anna, Barberton Ohio *** Lake Kelso ***

Stage's Pond State Nature Preserve Stage's Pond State Nature Preserve is a nature preserve with ponds in Walnut Township, Pickaway County, Ohio. The State Nature Preserve is located at 4792 Hagerty Road, north of the county seat of Circleville. The preserve was dedicated on Aug ...

*** Triangle Lake Bog, Ravenna **

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

***

Conneaut Lake Conneaut Lake is the largest natural lake in Pennsylvania by surface area. It is located in western Crawford County near a town with the same name. Its has a surface area of approximately 925 acres. The site of the lake is actually in adjace ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

*** Ell Pond **

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

***Fish Lake ***

Whidbey Island Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...

*** Elkhart Lake *** Mauthe Lake ***

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Kettle Mucubají Kettle Mucubají ( es, Laguna de Mucubají) is a glacial lake located in Sierra Nevada National Park, in the Mérida State of Venezuela. The lake is 3625–3655 metres above sea level. Kettle Mucubají is one of the biggest kettles in the val ...

Overview

Bogs

Examples

See also

References

Further reading