Plucking - GCSE Geography Definition

Plucking is a process in glacial erosion where a glacier picks up rocks and stones as it moves. As the ice of the glacier or meltwater moves over the ground, it freezes around rocks. When the glacier moves forward, it pulls or "plucks" these rocks out of the ground, carrying them along. This can make the landscape more rugged, leaving behind jagged peaks and deep valleys. The plucked material can erode the rock below, leaving behind striations or corries, for example. Plucking is important in shaping the landforms we see in mountain regions and is a key process in understanding how glaciers change the environment over time.