Crag and tail

The crag and tail is a really cool land feature that geologists talk about. Imagine you are looking at a big hill or a mountain. The part of the hill that is really steep and tall is called the "crag." The part of the hill that slopes down and isn't as steep is called the "tail."

Now, let's imagine that the hill is covered in ice. Long, long ago, when there was a lot of ice covering the Earth, there were some hills that the ice couldn't move. The ice would try to push everything in front of it, but the crag was too tall and strong, so the ice had to go around it.

As the ice moved past the crag, it would pick up rocks and dirt and carry them along with it. But when it reached the tail of the hill, the ice would slow down and couldn't carry as much stuff. So, all the rocks and dirt would fall off the ice and pile up at the end of the hill, making a big pile of debris called a "terminal moraine."

Over a really, really long time, the ice melted away and left the hill behind. Now, we can still see the crag and the tail and the big pile of debris from when the ice pushed past it. That's what is called a crag and tail!