Definition of pingo in English:
pingo
nounplural noun pingos
GeologyA dome-shaped mound consisting of a layer of soil over a large core of ice, occurring in permafrost areas.
‘What's left behind are new surfaces: kettle moraines, outwash plains, pingos, scoured barren grounds.’- ‘Less widespread, but equally distinctive, are ice-cored mounds, or pingos.’
- ‘The review by Watson of the periglacial environment in Britain concluded that continuous permafrost was present long enough for widespread formation of features such as ice wedges and pingos.’
- ‘The seabed comprised steep rock formations normally associated with glaciated landscapes, except on this occasion it was the seafloor that had U-shaped valleys, arretes (wall of ice) and pingos (small conical hill of ice).’
- ‘You'll see pingos (giant earth cones with hearts of ice) and plenty of wildlife: beluga whales, caribou, polar bears, and musk oxen.’
Pronunciation
Origin
1920s from Inuit pinguq ‘nunatak’.
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