Which process primarily initiates cirque formation in mountainous glacial regions?

💡 Explanation

When snow accumulates in mountain hollows, nivation processes (freeze-thaw cycles and chemical weathering) and frost wedging breaks down the rock, creating a bowl-shaped depression. Subsequently ice plucking and abrasion deepen and enlarge the depression, eventually forming a cirque. Therefore nivation is the initiating process, rather than fluvial erosion, differential weathering, or tectonic uplift which operate independently.

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