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Ancient Channels of the Susquehanna River Beneath Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula

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Ancient Channels of the Susquehanna River Beneath Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula W&M ScholarWorks VIMS Articles Virginia Institute of Marine Science 9-1990 Ancient channels of the Susquehanna River beneath Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula Steven M. Colman Jeffrey P. Halka C. Hobbs Virginia Institute of Marine Science Robert B. Mixon David S. Foster Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/vimsarticles Part of the Geology Commons Recommended Citation Colman, Steven M.; Halka, Jeffrey P.; Hobbs, C.; Mixon, Robert B.; and Foster, David S., Ancient channels of the Susquehanna River beneath Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula (1990). Geological Society of America Bulletin, 102, 1268-1279. doi:10.1130/0016-7606(1990)102 2.3.CO;2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in VIMS Articles by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ancient channels of the Susquehanna River beneath Chesapeake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula STEVEN M. COLMAN U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 JEFFREY P. HALKA Maryland Geological Survey, 2300 St Paul SL, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 C. H. HOBBS III Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, Virginia 23062 ROBERT B. MIXON U.S. Geological Survey, 926 National Center, Reston, Virginia 22092 DAVID S. FOSTER U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 ABSTRACT Both the Chesapeake Bay and the southern Chesapeake Bay area is relatively well under- Delmarva Peninsula have changed consider- stood and, because it is only partly filled, the Three generations of the ancestral Susque- ably in the past half million years. location of the late Pleistocene fluvial channel is hanna River system have been mapped be- known in much of the bay (Ryan, 1953; Hack, neath Chesapeake Bay and the southern INTRODUCTION 1957; Harrison and others, 1965). In addition, Delmarva Peninsula. Closely spaced seismic several scattered segments of paleochannels have reflection profiles in the bay and boreholes in The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in previously been identified beneath the Chesa- the bay and on the southern Delmarva Penin- the United States. It is a classic coastal-plain peake Bay and the Delmarva Peninsula, most sula allow detailed reconstruction of each pa- estuary, carved during periods of low relative recently by Mixon (1985). Prior to our study, leochannel system. The channel systems were sea level by fluvial erosion of gently dipping however, the main part of the Chesapeake Bay formed during glacial low sea-level stands, coastal-plain strata; the resulting river valley was had not been completely surveyed using seismic and each contains a channel-fill sequence that drowned during periods of high relative sea reflection methods. Consequently, relatively lit- records the subsequent transgression. The level, forming an estuary. The morphology of tle was known about the regional geographic trunk channels of each system are 2 to 4 km the Chesapeake Bay, both its coastline and its and temporal pattern of the paleochannels that wide and are incised 30 to SO m into underly- bathymetry, clearly reflect its origin as a were the precursors to the late Pleistocene fluvial ing strata; they have irregular longitudinal drowned river valley (Fig. 1), at least to a first channels in the bay. In a previous paper, we profiles and very low gradients within the approximation (Colman and others, 1988). identified three generations of fluvial channels Chesapeake Bay area. During the last major glaciation and low sea- beneath the bay and the Delmarva Peninsula The three main-stem channels diverge from level stand, about 18 to 20 ka, sea level dropped (Colman and Mixon, 1988); here we synthesize the head of the bay toward the southeast. The to at least -85 m on the mid-Atlantic continental their geographic pattern, discuss their origin and channels are rarely coincident, although they shelf (Dillon and Oldale, 1978; Bloom, 1983). preservation, summarize what is known about commonly intersect. All three main channels During this time, the area occupied by the Ches- their ages, and discuss the implications of these pass beneath the southern Delmarva Penin- apeake Bay was subaerially exposed, and a data for both the long-term evolution of the bay sula, forming an age progression from north narrow, steep-walled valley was incised into the and for its future. (oldest) to south (youngest) beneath the Pe- Coastal Plain strata by the Susquehanna River ninsula, and from east (oldest) to west system and its major tributary, the Potomac PREVIOUS WORK (youngest) beneath Chesapeake Bay. South- River. As sea level rose during the late Pleisto- ward progradation of the tip of the Delmarva cene and Holocene, the fluvial valley was trans- The morphology and bathymetry of Chesa- Peninsula during interglacial high sea-level formed first into a restricted river estuary and peake Bay, especially its intricate, dendritic trib- stands caused southward migration of the then into the modern open-bay estuary (Colman utary pattern and its prominent central channel, mouth of the bay, so that the next generation and Hobbs, 1987, 1988; Colman and Halka, have long suggested that a relict fluvial drainage of channels were incised progressively furth- 1989a, 1989b). This transgression is continuing system exists buried beneath the sediments of the er towards the southwest. today and has partially filled the former fluvial bay. The fact that sea level was considerably The youngest paleochannel is clearly of late channel with estuarine sediments. Because the lower than present during Pleistocene glacia- Wisconsinan age, about 18 ka, and the inter- advance and retreat of continental ice sheets tions supports this speculation. Ryan (1953) first mediate one appears to be late Illinoian in (and hence sea-level rise and fall) have been documented a major fluvial channel beneath the age, or about 150 ka. The age of the oldest cyclic for the past 0.75 m.y. or so (Hays and bay, on the basis of the borings taken across the paleochannel is not well constrained, but it is others, 1976), with a first-order period of about main part of the bay for the Annapolis-Kent in the range of about 200 to 400 ka. The three 100,000 yr, the Susquehanna River system Island Bridge (Fig. 2), where the channel bottom paleochannel systems imply a dynamic should have carved multiple generations of occurs at a depth of about -61 m (-200 ft). In coastal-plain environment and at least two channels beneath Chesapeake Bay. addition to the detailed cross section of the previous generations of the Chesapeake Bay. The history of the last cycle of sea level in the channel reconstructed from the borings, Ryan Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 102, p. 1268-1279, 11 figs., September 1990. 1268 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/102/9/1268/3381042/i0016-7606-102-9-1268.pdf by William & Mary user on 10 December 2020 76°40'W 76°20' 76°00' 75°40' 76°40'W 76°20' 76°00' 75°40' 39°00'N 38°40' 38°20' 38°00' 37°40 37°20 37°i 0 20 km 0 lOnmi 0 20km 0 lOnmi 1 1 1 1 I—I L_1 I I Figure 1. Map of the Chesapeake Bay showing tracklines of Figure 2. Map of the Chesapeake Bay showing geographic names seismic reflection profiles and locations of profiles shown in Figures mentioned in the text and the locations of previously identified or 3-7 (thick, numbered sections). Line of profile for Figure 10 is shown inferred paleochannels, referenced by number: 1, Ryan, 1953, Hack, as a dashed line. Areas with water depths greater than 18.3 m (60 ft) 1957; 2, Harrison and others, 1965, Meisburger, 1972; 3, Harrison, are shaded. 1972; 4, Hansen, 1966, Weigle, 1972; 5, Mixon, 1985; 6, Schubel and Zabawa, 1973; 7, Kehrin and others, 1980; 8, Carron, 1979; 9, Shideler and others, 1984. Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/102/9/1268/3381042/i0016-7606-102-9-1268.pdf by William & Mary user on 10 December 2020 1270 COLMAN AND OTHERS (1953) projected the longitudinal profile of the the bay-mouth area since the fluvial channel was however, is problematic. Although the thalweg channel for the length of the bay, and he calcu- formed in late Wisconsinan (latest Pleistocene) of the channel has been traced over a length of lated the degree to which the ancient valley was time to account for the difference between the about 33 km (20 mi), efforts to define its full filled, using the projected channel for the base of depth of the channel at the Annapolis-Kent Is- extent have been difficult. The base of the chan- the fill. According to his projection, the fluvial land Bridge (-61 m, -200 ft) and that at the bay nel rises abruptly east of Salisbury (Weigle, channel was predicted to be at a depth of about mouth (-49 m, -160 ft), assuming no gradient. 1972). It rises more gently to the west, but it is at -91 m (-300 ft) at the bay mouth. Hack (1957) Using Hack's (1957) projected channel gradient, an altitude greater than -24 m (-80 ft) just west used the logs for the Kent Island Bridge and for Harrison and others (1965) suggested a min- of the Nanticoke River (Fig. 2). bridges over tributary drainages to describe the imum of 52 m (170 ft) of uplift. On the southern Delmarva Peninsula, Mixon fluvial and estuarine fills of the buried valleys. Harrison and others (1965) argued against the (1985) used geologic mapping and borehole He was the first to suggest the existence of more possibility that the late Wisconsinan channel of data to identify two major paleochannels (Fig.
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