SUNY, College at Oneonta the Geomorpbology of East-Central New
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A-5 GLACIAL MORPHOLOGY OF UPPER SUSQUEllAJlNA DRAINAGE P . Jay Fleisher SUNY , College at Oneonta INTRODUCTION The geomorpbology of east-central New York State reveals the cumulati ve erosional effects of multiple glacial events. but the deposits of only the last ice sheet are known . Evidence for pre-Wisconsin glaciation has long been recognized along the glacial limit in Pennsylvania and from isolated and widely spaced localities in New York. However, the glacieJ. chronology of the eastern Appalachian Plateau is confined to subdivis ions of the Wisconsin Glaciation as displayed in the landforms and stratigraphy. Those factors that influenced glacier pulses , floW' regime. and ice- marginal activity were widely variable across New York State, resulting in problems of correlation and chronology . In spite o~ this, a compre hensive picture has been developed through the combined efforts of many contributors who have concentrated on specific areas~ drainages, and problems. Within tbe area of the upper Susquebanna drainage are the depos its of mid-Wisconsin to late Wisconsin deglaciation . A characteristic • assemblage of depositional landforms const i tutes the valley f l oor morphology and r epresents a par ticular envir onment of deglacial processes. The valley wa.1.ls and divides are , for the most part, examples of the combined effects of erosional and depositional conditions of a different glacial environment. The emphasis of thi s report will be to consider the glacier environments of deposition as represented by the landforms and their stratigraphy. The area under consideration lies within Otsego County. along the upper reaches of the Susquehanna River from Wells Bridge to Otsego Lake. This discussi on will include areas represented in part by the Unadilla, Ot ego , Franklin, Oneonta. Mt. Vision. Hartwick ~ West Davenport, Schenevus . Milford, Cooperstown, Westford, and Cherry Valley quadrangles, as illus trated in figure 1 . Beginning in Wells Bridge and moving upstream along the Susquehanna the main tributaries are Otego Creek from the north at West Oneonta. Charlotte Creek from the east at Emmons (east of Oneonta). Schenevus Creek from the northeast at Colliersville (also east of Oneonta), Cherry Valley Creek from the northeast at Milford, and Oaks Creek from the northwest near Cooperstown. Various aspects of the Quaternary geology within this area and adjacent parts of the Appalachian Plateau have been investigated and reported by several past workers. In addition to the general overview treatment given by Fairchild (1925) and Rich (1935), Coates (19T4) and Coates and Kirkland (1974) considered the regional signi~icance of main drainage ways and the general distribution of ice-marginal deposits . Krall ' s work (1972 ) included the drumlins near Richfield Springs and the occurrence and correlation o f various moraines through this area. The work of Whipple (1969) also contributed to an understanding of the Quaternary geology north of Cooperstown. The Chenango drainage to the west has been studied by Cadwell (1972), who not only suggested a , A-5 page 2 conceptual model for stages of deglacial events, but also provided an absolute age that has helped to establish a correlative chronology with other parts of the state. To the east is the Schoharie drainage, in which Le Fleur (1969) considered the unique aspects of Wisconsin glacial pulses into a north flowing river system and the northern Catskill slopes. Additional details of Catskill glacial history are contained in the work by Kirkland (1973) in the West Branch of the Delaware River of Delaware County to the south. The purpose of this report is to present a general overview of the geomorphic development of the upper Susquehanna area, with special attention given to the glacial landforms and deglacial events. Hope fully, this will serve to fill the central gap between adjacent areas. REGIONAL SETTING This portion of the Appalachian Plateau is characterized by deeply dissected middle to upper Devonian clastic stratigraphy. Bedrock strata include interfingered and discontinuous beds and lenses of sandstone, siltstone, shale and sparse conglomerates of the Hamilton and Genesee Groups. The regional dip is to the south-southwest at angles typically less than 10°, In general, the bedrock of the region is well expressed by the topography. Some divides and broad, arcuate questas are capped by more massive parts of the stratigraphy and the subtle structural configuration can be seen on a regional scale. The topography shows the compound influence of a nuvioglacial origin with the Susquehanna River as the main trunk str eam. The present drainage was glacially modified from an elongate and incised dendritic pattern to an ice-scoured system of enlarged valley troughs and through valleys, with associated berms. umlaufbergs. and truncated spurs. Ice-scoured bedrock and thin lodgement till characterizes the uplands, however isolated occurrences of stratified drift are knovn to exist also. Large scale plucking of competent rock types has produced scattered basins in which upland lakes and bogs have formed. Local relief typically reaches 600 to 700 feet. However, if one considers the drift that chokes the valley floors to thicknesses that generally range bet....een 200 t,o 300 fed (BandaH . 197:'>', Gieschen, 19,(4). the erosional relief is seen to be con:~iderably greater. The drj ft i s almost entirely sorted, even in moraines, and consists of glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine gravel, sand, silt and clay. Two large lakes (Canadarago and Otsego) dominate the headwater valleys of the Susquehanna River. Both are vestiges of ice-contact lakes that occupied moraine dammed basins. Otsego Lake, the larger of the two, currently occupies a considerably deeper basin with a maximum depth of 166 feet compared with 44 feet in Canadarago (Weir and Harman, 1974). Sometime following deglaciation the spillways of both lakes breached their impounding moraines and the lakes receded to approximately their present positions. A similar geomorphic situation can be interpreted for other parts of the drainage that are completely free of lakes today. A-5 page 3 DRAINAGE DEVELOPMENT Preglacial Geomorphology The Susquehanna River and others of similar antiquity in the northeast have been the subject of geomorphic conjecture through decades of pub lished literature. The age and evolutionary development of the Susquehanna along its fUll course through the Valley and Ridge, Piedmont and Coastal Plain Provinces remains a classic conundrum. However, here near its present head on the Appalachi an Plateau, the situation seems somewhat less complex. Althougb pre-tertiary paleogeomorphology is difficult to decipher and remains speculative at best, the tectonic history of central New York provides a framework upon which a geomorphic history can be pieced together. The earliest possible origin for the upper Susque hanna drainage dates back to the last marine emergence of this region. With late Paleozoic erosional remnants capping undeformed Devonian strata of western New York and adjacent Pennsylvania , it appears as though r egional erosion and drainage development did not begin prior to late Permian or earl y Triassic time. It would have been at about this interval that the Hudson Valley began to take shape as the an cestral Hudson River flowed south along the trace of the Taconic thrusts and Acadian age fold structures. As this drainage and its tributaries developed, the Mohawk Valley was carved in similar less r esistant lower Paleozoic strata. It is suggested that subsequent headward erosion eventually captured the original Susquehanna head waters :from the Adirondack flanks and diverted them into the Hudson Valley. As a result, the Susquehanna River was beheaded and its new divide shifted southward in a series of hanging valleys . Further development of the MOhawk and its tributaries established the Schoharie drainage in competition with the easternmost Susquehanna. A schematic representation of this general development is shown in figure 2. Although repeated glacial erosion has modif ied this original drainage system, some valleys oriented perpendicular to the general ice flow remained relatively unaltered and still retain vestiges of their pre- glacial character. This:is the case I'Llonp; that part of Ouleout Creek which flows northwesterly thro~h East Sidney before j oining the Susquehanna. Here, the valley morphology consists of well preserved small scale engrown meanders that are modified only by a shallow valley train. Even along many of the main drainageways subparallel or parallel to ice flow, the glacially modified sweeping curvatures of large meander remnants can still be recognized as part of the pre- glacial morphology. Several good examples of this can be seen along the Susquehanna near Otego and again at Milford Center, as well as along Schenevus Creek. When viewed in detail, the large scale streamlining effects and over steepening of slopes resulting from glacial erosion can be readily seen, however the unmistakable meander morphology is well preserved. J l l A·5 page 19b 1 1 1 Figure 2 1 "1 "'.., ..,...... H_~'".''' .' •• ( A 8 ,• I .1 c J J J J A-5 v page 20a figure • r : (1180') "00 1000 S.nd m Silt Ei5J WELLS BRIDGE i, n. 1400' LATERAL MORAINE ,. '" 7 , / 1300 E ,/ OUTWASH HEAD '/ 1200' 5256 0""'''/" (10911') (T122'j 55 ....... "I RIVER (mo') mOil" ') <> '" '" , .. , ..... ~...0,' " .:. " :.' ••., .. ../ n . "/ • • .'. "." '. .. <> 0/ ~7 ' • .'~ , • • •• • '" .. c: 13 ~.: '" / G.81181 [0.0:1 234' ,o~. , . " ,', " .. 0 0.... ~ -..e '" '" ' .', Q .. Sendc.:.:.J 7 .......... '" .. co 0 7.... I .. I0~ ..0",-"," "'<>r Sitt D 'OO'L""'......~.O"""O .. .. .,,~""...:- -- - !!....7~c;L ~ - T itl~ o QuiCknndl1:D] - 1000' 2000' ONEONTA (EAST) ru A-5 page 22 Miller, N. G., 1973. in southwestern N no. 420, 102 p. Randall. A. D.• 1972 , Susquebanna River CaDserv., Bull. E B 11140'} 1106S'} p088 '1 11063'j 1100' Rich, J. L. t 1935. Gl 17 ,. Bull. no. 299. IE . .... ~?AA': .~~. '0.. ' 1000' Sirkin, L. A., 1961. Long Island and E Quaternary PaleoE Weir, G. P. and W. N. Otsego County, N. Station, Cooperst OTEGO Whipple, J.