Cryoplanation

In geomorphology, cryoplanation or is a term used to both describe and explain the formation of plains, terraces and pediments in periglacial environments. Uncertainty surrounds the term, and the effectiveness of the cryoplanation process is held to be limited meaning it can only produce small terraces. Instead, many of so-called cryoplanation terraces are likely an expression of the underlying lithology and rock structure rather than being unique products of cold-climate processes.

Cryoplanation can be seen as a variant of pediplanation that is restricted to cold climates. All the cryoplanation surfaces that exist at present date to the Quaternary.