An irregular mound of sand, gravel, and till formed by glacial processes is called a kame. Kames develop as meltwater deposits sediment in hollows, crevasses, or channels on and around a retreating glacier. When the supporting ice melts, the sediment collapses or remains as a mound on the ground.
Because meltwater does not sort every deposit equally, kames can contain layers ranging from fine sand to coarse gravel, cobbles, and boulders. Some are compact hills, while others form terraces along the sides of glacial valleys. Kame deltas may accumulate in temporary lakes perched on or beside stagnant ice.
Kames are commonly associated with kettles, which are depressions left when buried blocks of glacier ice melt. Together they create distinctive “kame and kettle” topography. The geological term was introduced by Scottish geologist Thomas Jamieson in 1874.
A common mix-up is the drumlin. Drumlins are streamlined hills shaped mainly by moving ice, whereas kames are irregular and chiefly reflect meltwater deposition. Eskers, by contrast, are long winding ridges deposited by streams flowing within or beneath ice.