Properties, origin and stratigraphy of Estonian tills

Estonia was the first region in the Russian Empire where the glacial theory became firmly established. This was facilitated by the proximity of the territory to the former centre of glaciation. Apart from this, Estonia had been the subject of detailed geological studies and had maintained close contacts both with St. Petersburg and West European scientific centres. As is well known, the glacial theory was developed over a long period of time and was recognised almost simultaneously in different countries. By the 1860’s, considerable success had been achieved in studying the traces of ancient glaciation in Sweden where the glacial theory was considered scientifically proven. The deposits of two interglacials- Eemian and Holsteinian have also been identified. In view of the relatively short duration of the warm intervals, the average rate of the ice sheet retreat and the great thickness of ice and maximum fluctuations of contemporary glaciers, doubts arose concerning the reliability of the ideas.