The glacier is no longer here. What remains is a shape: an ascent, a lake trough, a river valley. Choose a place on the profile and check what of it can be seen from the pavement and what is only interpretation.
Where are you standing on the profile?
Conceptual cross-section · not to scaleA diagram, not the profile of any street
All layers shown: the visible relief, the sediment model and a strip of alterations of unknown extent.
–Surface line, buildings: this can be seen from the pavement.
Water: a lake in the trough, a river in the valley.
GGlacial till: a model of the upland left by the ice sheet.
PGlaciofluvial sands and gravels: a model of the substrate.
NSilts and peats: a model of the valley's younger sediments.
Conceptual cross-section. The arrangement of the rise, the lake trough and the valley, and the arrangement of the layers, are invented for learning to read such a profile; they do not depict any street or borehole. There is no vertical or horizontal scale. The ‘unknown’ strip itself is not a zero: it means this side of the picture cannot be filled in.
1 · Lake shore · Ukiel
The water surface is a reference line, not the bottom
A diagram of the view, not a photograph.
a
a low stretch of shore right at the water. In the cross-section: the floor of the trough beneath the water surface.
b
a higher shore with buildings on the far side. In the cross-section: the edge of the trough on which the buildings stand.
What you can see today
Ukiel, described by Visit Olsztyn as the city's largest and deepest lake, has many bays and peninsulas. From the shore, compare the level of the water surface with the height of the opposite bank.
Sediment and origin model
In the model the lake occupies a trough beneath which lie glaciofluvial sands and gravels (P). The trough-like shape of the lake is sometimes linked with subglacial channels (the author's general knowledge, with no source on this page; to be verified), but an elongated outline alone does not prove origin. The arrangement beneath a particular lake has to be checked on a geological map.
Relief only
Without the sediment layer the cross-section speaks only of shape: the surface falls to the water and rises again on the other side. This is an observation of form, not of its origin.
Building alterations
The shoreline, the promenade and embankments may have changed the former slope. The model does not know the extent of these changes, which is why the cross-section shows a ‘?’ strip rather than a number.
On the pavement: find a low and a high stretch of shore in the view. Do the buildings stand by the water, or higher up? Do not use this to draw the boundaries of sediments. Starting point: the promenade by the city beach.
The ascent is the slope you see in the cross-section
A diagram of the view, not a photograph.
a
the place where the street stops rising. In the cross-section: the break in the surface where it reaches the upland.
b
roofs stepping up the street. In the cross-section: the buildings follow the line of the slope.
What you can see today
The street climbs the slope towards higher ground, and the buildings form steps. Ground heights can be checked in the digital terrain model (Geoportal) instead of guessing by eye.
Sediment and origin model
In the model the upland is built of glacial till (G), a deposit left by the ice sheet of the Vistula glaciation. According to V2 (to be verified), PIG-PIB describes glacial till in, among other places, the central and south-eastern parts of Olsztyn. The slope alone does not settle that there is till beneath a particular street.
Relief only
Without the sediment layer you see only a slope that rises and levels off. From this you cannot tell a moraine from any other landform.
Building alterations
A street on a slope may have required a cutting or an embankment, and the buildings, foundations. The model does not know how much of the natural profile is left, so the ‘?’ strip runs along the whole surface.
On the pavement: stop at the bottom and at the top of the ascent. Notice where the angle of the street changes and whether successive roofs step upwards. Record it as an observation of form, not an identification of a sediment.
the flat valley floor by the water. In the cross-section: a belt of younger sediments at the foot of the slope.
b
the slope in the background, clearly higher. In the cross-section: the upland, separated from the valley by a scarp.
What you can see today
From a bridge in Park Podzamcze or Park Centralny, look at the water, the valley floor and the slope. Both parks let you see the river in the middle of the city.
Sediment and origin model
In the model the valley floor is covered by younger sediments: peats, humic sands and silts (N). According to V2 (to be verified), PIG-PIB describes them in the Łyna valley as younger sediments, and the landscape kept changing after the ice sheet retreated. In the model these are younger valley sediments. Organic soils may have low bearing capacity (the author's general remark, to be verified); that is assessed by engineering-geological surveys, not by this page.
Relief only
Without the sediment layer you see a flat floor below the slope. Flatness alone does not tell you which sediments make up the ground.
Building alterations
Valleys in towns are often altered by embankments, river regulation and the building up of banks. The extent of change in this model is unknown.
On the bridge: look at the water, the valley floor and the slope. Separate what people have shaped from what may belong to the natural relief. Write down your guess as a question, not a confident diagnosis.
The PIG-PIB study links the relief of the region with the Vistula glaciation. It distinguishes post-glacial uplands, end moraines and sandurs, that is, surfaces of sands and gravels. In Olsztyn itself glacial till occurs in, among other places, the central and south-eastern parts, while the west of the city also includes glaciofluvial sediments. In the Łyna valley PIG describes younger sediments: peats, humic sands and silts. Summary per V2, to be verified in the source (notes).
A hill alone is not enough to identify a moraine, and the elongated shape of a lake is not proof of its origin. First notice the form in the landscape, then check it on a geological map.
Relief todayIn the cross-section: surface line, buildings, water. Always visible.
Claims
Here the ground rises, here it drops to the water, here it is flat.
Based on
Observation from the pavement. Heights can be checked in the digital terrain model (NMT).
Does not settle
What the ground is made of and where it came from.
Post-glacial interpretationIn the cross-section: hatched units G, P, N. Switched on with a button.
Claims
Uplands of glacial till, glaciofluvial sands and gravels, and younger peats and silts in the valley.
Based on
The PIG-PIB study for Olsztyn (pp. 18–23, per V2, to be verified). The arrangement in the diagram illustrates types of sediment; it is not borehole data.
Does not settle
What lies beneath a chosen street. The study does not confirm every layer.
Building alterationsIn the cross-section: the ‘?’ strip along the surface. Switched on with a button.
Claims
Nothing specific. There are no data in this version.
Based on
Nothing; it is a deliberate marking of a gap.
Does not settle
Where the embankments, cuttings and foundations are. That is why the area is marked as unknown, not as zero.
After the explanation: two routes across the same relief
Two model routes between the same points. A goes over the rise and is 260 m shorter, B bypasses it along a flat low area. The lengths, elevation gains and gradients are model values from the previous version of the page, not measurements from the field. The work W = m · g · Δh is purely the work of lifting a mass, not the metabolic cost to the body nor a route recommendation.
A model, not a measurement. The numbers on the axes are metres: height vertically (0–30 m), distance horizontally (0–1200 m). Both routes are on one scale: horizontal 0–1200 m, vertical 0–30 m. The vertical is exaggerated about 13 times relative to the horizontal so that 4 m and 26 m are visible at all; the shape of the curves is conventional.
45 kg130 kg
3.0 km/h6.0 km/h
150 m/h600 m/h
Routes A and B: model data and calculations
Quantity
AOver the rise
BAlong the low ground
Horizontal length
880 m
1140 m
Total ascent
+26 m
+4 m
Average gradient
3.0%
0.4%
Max. gradient (model)
9.5%
1.2%
Time on the flat
11 min 00 s
14 min 15 s
Climbing time
5 min 12 s
48 s
Total time
16 min 12 s
15 min 03 s
Climbing work
19.1 kJ
2.9 kJ
Route B is faster, by 1 min 09 s, although it is 260 m longer. Route B involves less climbing work: 2.9 kJ against 19.1 kJ (6.5× less). The times become equal at a climbing rate of approx. 406 m/h.
Time, common scale 0–30 min
A
B
010 min20 min30 min
Climbing work, common scale 0–35 kJ
A
B
010 kJ20 kJ30 kJ
walking on the flatclimbingwork W
Time = length / speed on the flat + elevation gain / climbing rate. This is a simple sum of assumptions, not a forecast for any person. The bar scales are fixed, so moving the sliders always changes their length.
Sources and limits of the evidence
The links below were carried over from the previous version of the page. They were not opened or re-checked in this version, so treat them as pointers to verify, not as confirmation.
The page range and content of the PIG-PIB study and the assignment of sediment types to parts of the city; in particular the wording about the younger sediments of the Łyna valley.
The sentence about subglacial channels in the ‘Lake shore’ panel: the author's general knowledge, with no source on this page.
The sentence about the possible low bearing capacity of organic soils in the ‘Low ground’ panel: a general remark, not an assessment of the ground.
The descriptions of Ukiel and the park route according to Visit Olsztyn; the names and status of the places.
The values for routes A and B (880 m, 1140 m, +26 m, +4 m, gradients): these are model figures from the previous version, with no measurement of our own.
The starting points of the field tasks: the reader judges the accessibility and safety of a place on the spot.
What this page does not do
It does not show the profile of any particular street or borehole.
It does not assess the bearing capacity of the ground, building risk or flooding.
It does not identify a moraine, a trough or a sediment from a photograph or the shape of the terrain.
It does not give the height above sea level (m a.s.l.) of a property and does not replace a geological map.
What was removed from the previous version, and why
The free-form exposure (position and depth sliders) and the slider for seeing through the buildings: they gave an impression of exact knowledge of every point. They were replaced with three described points and two layers of knowledge.
The slope gradient calculator: it duplicated the route comparison. The average gradient is now calculated for both routes in the table.
The observation log in browser storage: an unnecessary local save. The field tasks were moved into the point panels; nothing is saved.
The photograph embedded from the internet: the page is meant to work offline. It was replaced with our own diagrams of the views, and a link to the photograph was left.
The A/B route switch: replaced by a simultaneous comparison in the table and on the bars.
The Lake Długie / park route station as a separate task: replaced by the new ‘Ascent’ panel (with no equivalent in V2). The park route remains in the Visit Olsztyn link and in the ‘Low ground’ panel.
Kept: the formula W = m·g·Δh, the data for both routes, the three assumption sliders, the content from the PIG-PIB study, the two field stations from V2 (Ukiel, the Łyna valley) and the source links.
