noun
tarn
TARN/tɑːrn/
A small mountain lake, especially in a basin carved by a glacier.
A clear tarn reflects the rocky peaks high above the valley.
Etymology
The Norse word already described a small mountain lake with no visible feeder streams. English retained the mountain-lake sense in a northern dialect word later popularized by the Lake poets and adopted by geologists.
In context
A tarn is a lake that is formed in a cirque. As you can guess, if you have a bowl shaped basin, then the glacier disappears through ablation
More examples
- Melting snow feeds the tarn beneath the ridge.
- The trail passes two tarns before reaching the summit.
- We rest beside a tarn during our mountain hike.
Forms
tarn · tarns