Editing Esker (section)

==Etymology==
[[File:Denaliesker.JPG|thumb|Portions of the [[Denali Highway]] in [[Alaska]] are built on eskers.]]
The term ''esker'' is derived from the [[Irish language|Irish]] word {{Lang|ga|eiscir}} ({{Langx|sga|escir}}), which means "ridge or elevation, especially one separating two plains or depressed surfaces".<ref>{{cite book
  | last =Quin
  | first =E. G. (gen. ed.)
  | title =Dictionary of the Irish Language
  | publisher =Royal Irish Academy
  | year =1983
  | location =Dublin
  | pages =281
  | isbn = 0-901714-29-1 }}</ref> The Irish word was and is used particularly to describe long sinuous ridges, which are now known to be deposits of [[fluvio-glacial]] material. The best-known example of such an ''eiscir'' is the ''[[Esker Riada|Eiscir Riada]]'', which runs nearly the whole width of [[Ireland]] from [[Dublin]] to [[Galway]], a distance of {{convert|200|km|mi|abbr=on}}, and is still closely followed by the main Dublin–Galway road

The synonym ''os'' comes from the Swedish word {{Lang|sv|ås}}, "ridge".