Table 5 The classification system II of glacial lakes (ICIMOD, 2011; ICIMOD, 2018)

1

Bedrock-dammed glacial lake

Lakes formed by water accumulation in depressions created by early glacial erosion processes after the glacier has retreated or melted away

1.1

Cirque lake

Lake formed in cirques

1.2

Other glacially eroded lakes

Lakes formed by water accumulation in depressions created by the glacial erosion process, typically located in valleys with gentle slopes

2

Ice-blocked lake

Lakes formed by glacial blockage, including supraglacial lakes or those blocked by the main or tributary glaciers, as well as lakes located between the edges of glaciers and valleys or at the junction of two glaciers

2.1

Supraglacial lake

Lakes formed by glacial moraine blockage after glacier retreat

2.2

Glacial tributaries blocking the lake

Lakes formed by glacial blockage (without lateral moraines), located on one side of the glacier and blocked by the glacier’s edge and the valley

3

Moraine-dammed lake

Lakes formed by glacial moraine blockage after glacier retreat

3.1

End moraine-dammed lake

Lakes formed by the blockage of terminal moraine ridges at the glacier’s terminus. They are typically in contact with lateral moraine ridges, and the lake water is usually (but not necessarily) in contact with the glacier or has an ice body at the bottom

3.2

Lateral moraine-dammed lake

Lakes formed by the blockage of lateral glacial till. The lakes are typically blocked by the outer side of the lateral moraine ridges, which means they are situated away from the previous path of the glacier

3.3

Ice-dammed moraine blocks lake

Lakes formed by blockage of other moraines (including pot lakes and hot rock lakes)

4

Other glacial lakes

Lakes formed in glacial valleys that are fed by glacial, snow, and permafrost meltwater, but whose damming materials are not direct products of glacial processes, such as debris flows, alluvial deposits, or landslides