Report Landform Sediment Assemblages in the Upper Mississippi Valley, St. Cloud to St. Paul, for Support of Cultural Resource Investigations Minnesota Department of Transportation Saint Paul, Minnesota June 2002 by Edwin R. Hajic, Ph.D. edited by Curtis M. Hudak, Ph.D. REPORT DOCUMENTATION 1. REPORT NO. 2. 3. Recipient =s Accession No. PAGE 4. Title and Subtitle (5. Report Date Landform Sediment Assemblages in the Upper Mississippi Valley, St. Cloud June 2002 to St. Paul, for Support of Cultural Resour ce Investigations 6. 7.Author(s) Edwin R. Hajic, Ph.D. 8. Performing Organization Rept. No. 01M003 edited by Curtis M. Hudak, Ph.D. 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Project/Task/Work Unit No. Foth & Van Dyke and Associates 11. Contract 8 or Grant (G) No. 2900 Lone Oak Parkway, Suite 125 Mn/DOT Agreement Eagan, MN 55121 No. 80781 (G) 12. Sponsoring Organization Name and Address 13. Type of Report & Period Covered Minnesota Department of Transportation 14. 395 John Ireland Boulevard St. Paul, MN 55155 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract (Limit: 200 words) This report presents results of geomorphic and landscape sediment assemblage mapping in the upper Miss issippi Valley between St. Cloud and St. Paul, Minnesota. The purpose is to provide a context for evaluating the geologic potential for both buried and surficial prehistoric cultural deposits in this reach of the Mississippi Valley. The project was done for the Minnesota Department of Transportation as an enhancement to the Mn/Model project. Mn/Model is a GIS database designed as a planning tool to help avoid pre -Contact archaeological deposits. 17. Document Analysis a. Descriptors Mn/Model, Upper Mississippi River Valley, geology, geomorphology, landform sediment assemblages, fluvial, alluvium, Holocene, Late Wisconsinan, Quaternary in radiocarbon, St. Croix lobe, Des Moines lobe, Grantsburg sublobe, Glacial Lake Anoka, Anoka Sand Plain, Land scape Suitability Rankings, pre -Contact archaeology models, landscape evolution, Stearns County, Wright County, Sherburne County, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Minnesota. 18. Availability Statement 19. Security Class (This Report) 21. No. of Pages 30 pages plus appendices and GIS database 20. Security Class (This Page) 22. Price Landform Sediment Assemblages in the Upper Mississippi Valley, St. Cloud to St. Paul, for Support of Cultural Resource Investigations Management Summary This repo rt presents results of geomorphic and landscape sediment assemblage mapping in the upper Mississippi Valley between St. Cloud and St. Paul Minnesota. The purpose of the report is to provide a context for evaluating the geologic potential for buried and su rface prehistoric cultural deposits in this reach of the Mississippi Valley. The project was completed for the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration as an enhancement to the Mn/Model project in support of future cultura l resource evaluation and mitigation projects. The geomorphic mapping was conducted directly within the GIS project utilizing ArcMap software; U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) digital raster graphics of 7.5’ quadrangle maps; scanned, orthorectified and geore ferenced images of USGS NAPP color infrared high altitude aerial photography; scanned, orthorectified and georeferenced images of historic U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) black -and -white aerial photography; available USDA digital soil maps for Anoka, Hennepin, Ramsey, Sherburne, and Wright counties; and, 5 -foot contour interval topographic mapping flown and created specifically for the project. Delineation of landforms was completed by “heads -up” digitizing, and coding of landforms was conducted using the techniques and code key developed for Mn/Model geomorphology mapping (Hudak and Hajic 1999; Hajic et al. 2000). Seven landscape sediment assemblages (LsSA’s) are identified in the project area: undifferentiated uplands, glaciofluvial, catastrophic fl ood, valley terrace, floodplain, lacustrine, and valley margin. Thirty -two cores were collected to obtain datable material from, and to characterize, different Landform Sediment Assemblages (LfSA’s). Twelve radiocarbon samples were selected and assayed a t Lawrence Livermore radiocarbon laboratory using the AMS technique. A history of landscape evolution was developed for the project area. LfSA’s were then assigned a Landscape Suitability Ranking (LSR) for different depth intervals. The suitability rank ing of an LfSA represents a measure of the potential for geological strata to contain and preserve cultural resources with respect to depositional and post - depositional environments and geologic age. Most of the valley area is occupied by Glaciofluvial a nd Catastrophic Flood LsSA’s that are latest Pleistocene in age, but overlap with earliest Paleoindian presence in North America. The Lacustrine LsSA occurs mostly in ice -block depressions on outwash and catastrophic flood surfaces. Lake and wetland depo sits filling depressions are latest Pleistocene to modern in age, can be thick, and have a high LSR. Associated shoreline features can also contain buried cultural deposits of all cultural periods. The Valley Margin LsSA consists mostly of moderate to st eep hillslopes along valley margin, outwash, and catastrophic flood surface margins that are dominated by erosional processes. The Valley Terrace LsSA ranges from at least the middle Holocene to late Holocene in age; Middle Archaic to Woodland cultural de posits can be shallowly buried. The Floodplain LsSA ranges from late Holocene to modern in age; older occurrences can have shallowly buried Woodland and younger cultural deposits. KLL1\K: \01M003 \Report\R- LSA -MissValley\10000 3 Landform Sediment Assemblages in the Upper Mississippi Valley, St. Cloud t o St. Paul, for Support of Cultural Resource Investigations Contents Page 1. Introduction ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 1 2. Objectives ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 2 3. Quaternary Geologic Overview ................................ ................................ ................................ ....... 3 4. Methods ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 6 5. Landscape and Landform Sediment Assemblages ................................ ................................ ............ 8 5.1 Upland Landscape ................................ ................................ ................................ ................... 8 5.2 Glaciofluvial Landscape ................................ ................................ ................................ .......... 8 5.3 Catastrophi c Flood Landscape ................................ ................................ ................................ .9 5.4 Valley Terrace Landscape ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 12 5.5 Floodplain Landscape ................................ ................................ ................................ ........... 13 5.6 Lacustrine Landscape ................................ ................................ ................................ ............ 15 5.7 Valley Margin Landscape ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 16 6. History of Landscape Evolution ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 17 7. Landscape Suitability Rankings for Surface and Buried Archaeological Sites ................................ 20 8. Conclusions ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ... 24 9. References Cited ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................... 25 Tables Table 1. Radiocarbon ages from depression, catastrophic flood, and valley terrace landform sediment assemblages. Figures Figure 1. Location of the upper Mississippi Valley project a rea. Figure 2. GIS coverage of the Mississippi Valley, St. Cloud to St. Paul. Figure 3. Vertical aerial photograph illustrating braided stream and braid bar pattern. Figure 4. Longitudinal profile of the Mississippi Valley between St. Cloud and St. Paul. Figure 5. Vertical aerial photograph illustrating large -magnitude flood channels just downstream from St. Cloud. KLL1\K: \01M003 \Report\R- LSA -MissValley\10000 4 Figure 6. Graphic sediment/soil logs of the CPC, LLB, and FMB landform sediment assemblages along a transect containing cores 01ST01 -03. Figure 7a. Graphic sediment/soil logs of the CPC landform sediment assemblage at core locations 01SH01 and 01WI01. Figure 7b. Graphic sediment/soil logs of the CPC landform sediment assemblage at core locations 01SH01 and 01WI01. Figure 8a. Graphic sediment/soil logs of the CPCMA landform sediment assemblage along a transect containing cores 01BE01 -02, and at core location 01SH03. Figure 8b Graphic sediment/soil logs of the CPCMA landform sediment assemblage along a transect containing cores 01BE01 -02, and at core location 01SH03. Figure 9. Graphic sediment/soil logs of the CPCMA landform sediment assemblage along a transect containing cores 01ST04 -07. Figure 10. Graphic sediment/soil