Geomorphic and Sedimentological History of the Central Lake Agassiz Basin
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Electronic Capture, 2008 The PDF file from which this document was printed was generated by scanning an original copy of the publication. Because the capture method used was 'Searchable Image (Exact)', it was not possible to proofread the resulting file to remove errors resulting from the capture process. Users should therefore verify critical information in an original copy of the publication. Recommended citation: J.T. Teller, L.H. Thorleifson, G. Matile and W.C. Brisbin, 1996. Sedimentology, Geomorphology and History of the Central Lake Agassiz Basin Field Trip Guidebook B2; Geological Association of CanadalMineralogical Association of Canada Annual Meeting, Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 27-29, 1996. © 1996: This book, orportions ofit, may not be reproduced in any form without written permission ofthe Geological Association ofCanada, Winnipeg Section. Additional copies can be purchased from the Geological Association of Canada, Winnipeg Section. Details are given on the back cover. SEDIMENTOLOGY, GEOMORPHOLOGY, AND HISTORY OF THE CENTRAL LAKE AGASSIZ BASIN TABLE OF CONTENTS The Winnipeg Area 1 General Introduction to Lake Agassiz 4 DAY 1: Winnipeg to Delta Marsh Field Station 6 STOP 1: Delta Marsh Field Station. ...................... .. 10 DAY2: Delta Marsh Field Station to Brandon to Bruxelles, Return En Route to Next Stop 14 STOP 2: Campbell Beach Ridge at Arden 14 En Route to Next Stop 18 STOP 3: Distal Sediments of Assiniboine Fan-Delta 18 En Route to Next Stop 19 STOP 4: Flood Gravels at Head of Assiniboine Fan-Delta 24 En Route to Next Stop 24 STOP 5: Stott Buffalo Jump and Assiniboine Spillway - LUNCH 28 En Route to Next Stop 28 STOP 6: Spruce Woods 29 En Route to Next Stop 31 STOP 7: Bruxelles Glaciotectonic Cut 34 STOP 8: Pembina Spillway View 34 DAY 3: Delta Marsh Field Station to Latimer Gully to Winnipeg En Route to Next Stop 36 STOP 9: Distal Fan Sediment , 36 STOP 10: Valley Fill Sediments (Latimer Gully) 36 STOP 11: Deep Basin Landforms of Lake Agassiz 42 References Cited 49 Appendix "Review of Lake Agassiz history" (L.H. Thorleifson) 55 "History of late glacial runoff along the southwestern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet" (Kehew and Teller, 1994; selected pages) .... 85 "Glacial lake outbursts along the mid-continent margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet" (Kehew and Lord, 1987; selected pages) 93 ViclDri.1 LAKE Hillside Se PARCPROV. GRANDBEAI PROV.PAR~ Grand Such Granc Maraii MANITOBA St. Lau " THE WINNIPEG AREA The Quaternary sediments in the Winnipeg area (population 650,000) overlie Ordovician and Silurian bedrock, dominated by dolomite and dolomitic limestone. The bedrock geology is shown on the "Manitoba Geological Highway Map" (separate folded map). This map also describes and discusses a number of "geological highlights" of the Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic geology and history of the province, including several maps and block diagrams about the late Pleistoc~ne. If you arrived in Winnipeg by air, you may have noticed (if the wheat has not obscured them) large (> 1 km long} curved and straight, light-toned features on the surface (see Figure 1). These are low (mostly less than 1 m in relief) curvilinear features formed in Lake Agassiz silty clay that are better drained and, therefore, the soils have lower organic content in them; there are many thousands of these and they extend for hundreds of kilometres from the southern end of the Lake Agassiz basin to well north of Winnipeg. Clayton et al. (1965) concluded that they are the result of iceberg (or winter ice) drag/plough marks with adjacent pushed ridges in the offshore Lake Agassiz sediment, and therefore date from the period 12-9 ka. Recent studies in Manitoba (Woodsworth Lynas & Guigne, 1990; Nielson & Matile, 1982) attributed the ridges to differential compaction between ice-scoured troughs filled by silty sediment and the adjacent clays. These ideas are more fully developed at one of our stops (STOP 11). Surface sediments at Winnipeg and in the Red River Valley are composed mainly of silty clay ("gumbo") deposited during the last (Emerson) phase of glacial Lake Agassiz, 10-9.2 ka. Ice-rafted boulders are scattered across the surface or occur within the lacustrine clay but, overall, the upper half of the clayey sediment is free of ice-rafted material, whereas the lower part is rich in this detritus. In places in the Winnipeg area and west to Portage la Prairie, a thin « 1 m) silt-rich bed lies near the surface, which poses major engineering problems because of its instability; this deposit may be related to Holocene flooding of the Assiniboine River between Portage la Prairie and Winnipeg, perhaps after the re-diversion of this river from the Lake Manitoba basin (see discussion at STOP 1), or to density underflows on the floor of Lake Agassiz during its late stages (see STOP 11). The stratigraphic sequence of Lake Agassiz silty clay is < 20 m thick at Winnipeg and overlies carbonate-rich silty clay (loamy) till, which overlies carbonate bedrock. The lacustrine deposits are poorly to non-laminated and quite uniform in character from top to bottom. Little pollen and few microfossils have been found. As Figure 2 shows, this sequence thickens toward the south and west; westward the Lake Agassiz sediment becomes coarser grained. A few summary comments on the "Environmental geology of Winnipeg" (groundwater, Red River floodway, engineering problems, etc.) are presented in the separate repri nt. 1 1 kilometre Figure 1. Iceberg scour marks on floor ofLake Agassiz southeast of Winnipeg. The lighter tones are more silty, better drained, and relatively low in organic matter. 2 <5m LACUSTRINE SEDIMENT \ /\ OVER / /. TI LL ..I ../ I'\ i AND ,\... BEDROCK , ('n.,....J' ...",.. ....... ,.". \ / ....... _. ''''\ r . \. 0 . .-./ ......, Ul ( ."" ......../ \. '" ~~ ~ w +'~ \ :z 50' 00' ;.---------- "\ ~ .»..~ (".1'--'-) i ~) • CIl I ....... ~ \ () i -< i -J \ : ",'" .!::: ~,-S'''\....1> ~ j ~ ! : < " I ~ .J -< I ~ i z I. -< \\ '" 49' 00' -·-,:,-:-s:A·.-·-'-'-'-'-'-'-'-----'-'-'-'-' ._.~'t"'-'-'-'-'-:"-'-'- 49' 00 (~ \\ -< t- \ . - ~( \ \ ~ \ \ ~ o 50 o \, \. 0 / KILOMETERS "'" \',\" ()-< /// \. ..J /-- \ \.... c)' \! 1 0 I V1 I ~ "II .L I \ I ~ CAMPBELL sPCH~\ ~ I :::I)' ... I (, \ \ ,.. I i~ ',' ~ ! \ \. i\ ~ \ . \. \ ~ \\, .) .J I Q! .\ \ " "+-4:-fJ::;/'/ /4 48' 00' \ \, <b CG:O~ ,/ ( i \ \ ". ',L " \,,·\.I 1 \ '.) " . / \ \. / ", I \ \\ ,I \ \\ "I \;\ \I ...... \ !\. \ \\ \ Figure 2. Isopach map (in m) of lacustrine clay, silt, and sand in southern Lake Agassiz basin, showing the highest regional beach (Herman), the most extensive beach (Campbell), the outline of the Assiniboine (A) and Pembina (P) fan-deltas, and other sediment types and thicknesses (J. Teller, unpublished). 3 GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO LAKE AGASSIZ Glacial Lake Agassiz not only was important in the late glacial history of this region, but also helped control the routing of meltwater from the western Laurentide Ice Sheet (as well as intluence the retreat and readvance/surging of this ice sheet) (see, for example, Teller, 1987,1990, 1995; Clayton et al., 1984). Hydrological systems "downstream" were significantly influenced by the highly variable overflow from Lake Agassiz, and the record of its overflow into the Mississippi River valley, Great Lakes, St. Lawrence valley, and Mackenzie valley is only now being evaluated. In turn, the imp'act of water variably routed from the Agassiz basin (Figure 3) has been implicated in altering late glacial ocean circulation and climate (e.g. Broeckef et a. I. , 1988,1989, <1990; Keigwin et al., 1991). Therefore, the history of Lake Agassiz and its overflow (Figure 3) is important to North American deglaciation and to considerations of global change. For many of the changes it may be true that "LAKE AGASSIZ DID IT". The route of this fieldtrip is shown on the photocopied highway map, with the stops numbered. There are a number of key components in the Lake Agassiz system that are essential for an understanding of how this huge glaciohydrological system worked, including the location of the ice margin, the lake's outlets, and isostasy. Data on all of these come from the sediments and morphology of the Lake Agassiz basin and from various spillways, lakes, and oceans outside of its 2,000,000 km 2 drainage basin. We will visit a selection of sites that, hopefully, will convey an idea of what is in the central Lake Agassiz basin, and about how the system operated during its 4000-5000 year life during the last deglaciation. There are a number of controversial aspects, and the history of this giant lake and its impact on systems "downstream" are today being investigated with greater rigour than ever before. Part of the difficulty relates to the size of the lake (and the remoteness of the bulk of its evidence) - the lake spans about 15° of latitude and 20° of longitude. "New discoveries" in one corner of the basin, for example in the Northwestern Outlet area, cannot be treated in isolation from "evidence" and interpretations in other areas, for example in the Southern Outlet (1500 km away), and even in the Gulf of Mexico, because the whole system is interactive. A section in the Appendix to this Fieldguide, "Review of Lake Agassiz history" provides background on the evolution of ideas about the history of the lake and describes the main components used to make these interpretations; a revised history of the lake is also presented, mainly as a series of maps and diagrams with expanded captions (Figures 27-41). No doubt some aspects of this history will be controversial, and there are alternative scenarios to some parts of the reconstruction. Further re'finements and revisions no doubt will occur, and we encourage all researchers to contribute to our understanding of this important lake. The fieldtrip will look at 1) offshore and nearshore sediments and morphology (STOPS 1,3,9, 10, 11), 2) shoreline sediments and morphology (STOPS 1, 2), 3) t1uvial morphology and deposits of inflow spillways (STOPS 4, 5, 8), 4) aeolian deposits (STOP 6), and 5) glacial sediments (STOPS 7, 10).