Observations on the glacial and periglacial landforms of the Ballon d'Alsace (Vosges - France)

Abstract

Article in French.

ORIGINAL TITLE: Observations sur les formes glaciaires et périglaciaires du Ballon d'Alsace (Vosges - France)

The Ballon d'Alsace landforms are the result of the preservation of remnants of high-lying post-Hercynian and Palaeogene surfaces, significantly rejuvenated and eroded during the Neogene and Quaternary, which were cut by erosional processes and the action of local glaciers. This is evident in longitudinal and transverse profiles with visible cycles. These glaciers left external moraines towards the mouths of the Alsatian (Doller) and southern (Savoureuse, Ognon) valleys, as well as increasingly well-preserved central and internal moraines in the upper reaches of the rivers. In reality, the terrain is very complex and cannot be explained solely by glacial modifications, with cyclical fluvial erosion. During periods of glacial retreat, and ultimately in the Late Glacial, periglacial processes dominated morphogenesis and contributed to the rounding of forms, the filling of slopes and the partial obliteration of both fluvial and glacial forms.