Quaternary Geology of the Tillsonburg Area, Southern Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, Report 220, 87P
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Foster Resources Deputy Minister Ontario ® OMNR-OGS 1982 ISSN 0704-2582 PRINTED IN CANADA ISBN 0-7743-6983-3 Publications of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and price list are available through the Ministry of Natural Resources, Public Service Centre, Room 1640, Whitney Block, Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1W3 (personal shopping and mail orders), and reports only from the Ontario Government Bookstore, Main Floor, 880 Bay St., Toronto (personal shopping). Out-of-town customers may write to Ministry of Government Services, Publications Services Sec tion, 5th Floor, 880 Bay St., Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1N8. Telephone: 965-6015; toll-free long dis tance, 1-800-268-7540; or in Area Code 807, dial 0-Zenith 67200. Orders for publications should be accompanied by cheque or money order payable to the Treasurer of Ontario. Every possible effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this report, but the Ministry of Natural Resources does not assume any liability for errors that may occur. Source references are included in the report and users may wish to verify critical information. Parts of this publication may be quoted if credit is given. It is recommended that reference to this report be made in the following form: Barnett, P.J. 1982: Quaternary Geology of the Tillsonburg Area, Southern Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey Report 220,87p. Accompanied by Map 2473, Scale 1:50 000. 1000-300-82-Thorn ii FOREWORD TILLSONBURG AREA Ontario's Quaternary deposits are being mapped by the Ontario Geological Survey because a knowledge of the character and distribution of these materi als is important in the search for construction materials and ground-water sup plies as well as in the design and construction of roads, buildings, and utilities, and in land-use planning. This report deals with an area of about 1100 km2 of Ontario centred about the community of Tillsonburg. It describes the physiography of the area partic ularly as created by the action of glacial ice, and the origin, distribution, and physical and chemical characteristics of the Quaternary deposits. E.G. Pye Director Ontario Geological Survey CONTENTS PAGE Abstract >x Introduction 1 Present Geological Survey 1 Location and Access 2 Acknowledgments 2 Previous Work 2 Local Studies 2 Regional Studies 3 Physiography * Drainage Bedrock Geology 5 Lithology and Distribution 5 Bedrock Topography 6 Economic Geology 6 Limestone 6 Oil and Gas 7 Quaternary Geology 7 Introduction 7 Drift Thickness 9 Glacial Deposits and Features 10 Till 10 Catfish Creek Till 10 Port Stanley Till 14 WentworthTill 20 End Moraines 20 Ingersoll Moraine 21 Westminster Moraine 22 St. Thomas Moraine 23 Norwich Moraine 23 Tillsonburg Moraine 24 Courtland Moraine 25 Mabee Moraine 25 Paris Moraine 25 Till Plains 26 Glaciofluvial Deposits and Features 26 Ice-Contact Stratified Drift 26 Outwash 27 Glaciolacustrine Deposits and Features 28 LakeMaumee 29 LakeArkona 31 Lake Whittlesey and Younger lakes 31 Non-Glacial Deposits and Features 33 Older Alluvial Deposits and Features 33 Eolian Deposits and Features 33 Bog and Swamp Deposits 35 Vegetational History 36 Modern Alluvial Deposits and Features 41 Stratigraphy 41 Big Otter Creek Sections, Otterville to Tillsonburg 41 Big Otter Creek Sections, Tillsonburg to Bayham (Richmond) 42 Little Jerry Creek Sections 42 Big Creek Section, Lynedoch to Delhi 43 Cross Section, Salford to Mabee 43 Bayham (Richmond) Borehole 45 Glacial History 45 v Applied Quaternary Geology 50 Agricultural Soils 50 Economic Geology 50 Sand and Gravel 50 Glaciofluvial Outwash Deposits 51 Glaciofluvial Ice-Contact Deposits 53 Glaciolacustrine Beach Deposits 55 Older Alluvial Deposits 55 Eolian Deposits 55 Clay 55 Peat, Muck, and Marl 57 Environmental Geology 58 Geochemistry 59 Appendix A 61 Appendix B 71 Appendix C 75 References 77 Index 83 TABLES 1-Quaternary deposits and events in the Tillsonburg map-area 8 2-Water-well log from Aylmer Station 9 3-Properties of tills in the Tillsonburg map-area 11 4-Properties of individual layers of Port Stanley Till 19 5-Relationship of soil series to Quaternary deposits in the Tillsonburg map-area 51 6-Sand and gravel pits in outwash deposits 52 7-Sand and gravel pits in ice-contact deposits 54 8-Sand and gravel pits in beach, or dune and beach deposits 56 FIGURES 1-Location map viii 2-Bedrock geology of the Tillsonburg map-area Chart A 3-Bedrock topography of the Tillsonburg map-area Chart A 4-Drift thickness of the Tillsonburg map-area Chart A 5-Grain-size distribution of tills, Tillsonburg map-area 12 6-Ice-flow directions in the Tillsonburg map-area 16 7-Physiography of the Tillsonburg map-area Chart A 8-Paleogeographical map of Glacial Lake Whittlesey Chart B 9-Grain-size distribution curves for eolian sands 34 10-Pollen diagram for Cornell Bog Chart A 11- Section through buried organic site near Mabee 40 12-Pollen diagram for Mabee Site Chart A 13-Stratigraphic sections along Big Otter Creek, from Tillsonburg to Otterville Chart B vi 14-Stratigraphic sections along Little Jerry and Big Otter Creeks Chart B 15-Stratigraphic sections along Big Creek, from Delhi to Lynedoch Chart B 16-Schematic cross section, from Salford to Mabee 44 17-Bayham borehole log Chart B 18a-Meltwater drainage pattern after ice retreated from the Ingersoll Moraine 48 18b-Meltwater drainage pattern after ice retreated from the Norwich Moraine 48 18c-Ice front position during deposition of the Tillsonburg Moraine 49 18d-Ice front position during deposition oftheCourtland Moraine 49 PHOTOGRAPHS 1-Coarse-grained till in the Ingersoll Moraine, near Putnam 14 2-The three layers of Port Stanley Till 17 3-Hummocky topography along Ingersoll Moraine 21 4-Port Stanley Till overlying outwash sand and gravel 27 5-Lake Maumee well laminated clays and silts 30 6-Tobacco growing on the Lake Whittlesey Plain 32 7-Dust Storm, May 5,1976 35 8-Evidenceof recent eolian activity 36 9-Buried organic material, Bouchaert Site 38 10-A piece of wood from the Bouchaert Site 39 11-Muck and peat extraction 57 12-Partial sand dune 59 GEOLOGICAL MAP (back pocket) Map 2473 (coloured) - Quaternary Geology of the Tillsonburg Area, Southern Ontario.