Underground Ice Age pond posed challenges during construction of the Blackwall Tunnel
In the realm of geographical wonders, two distinct entities capture our attention: pingos and dew ponds. While pingos are the towering ice-cored hills of the Arctic and subarctic regions, dew ponds are the small, shallow reservoirs found primarily in temperate uplands, such as those in England.
Pingos, first described by John Franklin in 1825, are natural formations that occur in permafrost zones. They reach heights of up to 200 feet and are formed through the uplift of soil and ground ice during freezing conditions. The Mackenzie Delta in Canada, Alaska coastal deltas, and Siberian lowlands are some regions where these ice-cored mounds can be found.
On the other hand, dew ponds, whose term was first used in print in 1865 in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, are primarily artificial water bodies constructed in upland chalk areas to collect water from precipitation and dew. They have been used for centuries by farmers for livestock watering and irrigation in dry areas. Unlike pingos, dew ponds do not rely on permafrost or ice structures but rather on geological features like impermeable layers beneath the pond to retain water.
Historically and geographically, these two entities differ significantly. Pingos are formed naturally in cold, Arctic or subarctic climates, while dew ponds are found in temperate regions, often on chalk uplands. Their physical forms also contrast dramatically: pingos are elevated, ice-cored hills, while dew ponds are shallow basins holding water.
The use and function of these water bodies also differ. Pingos are geological features studied in periglacial geomorphology, while dew ponds have historically served as water sources for livestock and agriculture. The dew pond's ability to retain water is primarily due to its shallow, saucer-shaped design with a wide brim.
As we delve into the history of these water bodies, we find intriguing differences. Pingos, being natural formations, have been part of Arctic ecosystems, while dew ponds were created by humans to address water scarcity issues. The heyday for dew ponds was the 18th and 19th centuries due to the increase in the sheep population and the Enclosure Act of 1773. However, by the 20th century, many dew ponds became redundant and were filled in due to the development of a reliable rural water supply.
Despite their differences, both pingos and dew ponds hold significant historical and geographical importance. In England, Thompson Common in Breckland, six kilometers south of Watton, is dubbed the pingo pond capital of the UK. Meanwhile, the area around the Mackenzie Delta in the Canadian North-west Territories is home to around 1,350 identified pingos, around a quarter of the world's total.
In conclusion, pingos represent a natural periglacial phenomenon with significant height and formed by ice expansion under permafrost in Arctic/subarctic zones, whereas dew ponds are generally small, shallow reservoirs engineered in temperate upland areas primarily for agricultural use. Their distinct environmental settings and formation processes differentiate them in both historical and geographical contexts.
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