AbstractRecent investigations have shown that various factors may affect the shear strength of glacial till and that these factors may be involved in the drumlin-forming process. The presence of frozen till in the deforming zone, variation in pore-water pressure in the till, and the occurrence of random patches of dense stony-till texture have been considered. The occurrence of dense stony till may relate to the dilatancy hypothesis and can be considered a likely drumlin-forming factor within the region of critical stress levels. The up-glacier stress level now appears to be the more important, and to provide a sharper division between drumlin-forming and non-drumlin-forming conditions.