Relict sorted patterned ground in Lesotho

Relict sorted patterned ground is described from an upland interfluve on the Lesotho‐South Africa border at an elevation of 3280 m a.s.l. The site comprises 2–4° slope angles. Frost penetration through the regolith is inferred to have been to 1 m depth during pattern formation. Sorting is thought to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Permafrost and Periglacial Processes
Main Author: Paul Sumner
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:unknown
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.459
Description
Summary:Relict sorted patterned ground is described from an upland interfluve on the Lesotho‐South Africa border at an elevation of 3280 m a.s.l. The site comprises 2–4° slope angles. Frost penetration through the regolith is inferred to have been to 1 m depth during pattern formation. Sorting is thought to have resulted from deep seasonal freezing during the depressed temperatures of the Late‐Pleistocene Last Glacial Maximum (∼18 000 years B.P.). No direct evidence for permafrost is documented. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.