<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with English - language countries and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject . You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate . (November 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with English - language countries and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject . You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate . (November 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Glacial striations are scratches or gouges cut into bedrock by glacial abrasion . These scratches and gouges were first recognized as the result of a moving glacier in the late 18th century when Swiss alpinists first associated them with moving glaciers . They also noted that if they were visible today that the glaciers must also be receding . </P> <P> Glacial striations are usually multiple, straight, and parallel, representing the movement of the glacier using rock fragments and sand grains, embedded in the base of the glacier, as cutting tools . Large amounts of coarse gravel and boulders carried along underneath the glacier provide the abrasive power to cut trough - like glacial grooves . Finer sediments also in the base of the moving glacier further scour and polish the bedrock surface, forming a glacial pavement . Ice itself is not a hard enough material to change the shape of rock but because the ice has rock embedded in the basal surface it can effectively abrade the bedrock . </P>

Scratches in rock produced by glacial abrasion are called