Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:08:24.409Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Pleistocene Chronology and Environment of the “Ice-Free Corridor” of Northwestern Alberta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James M. White ,
Rolf W. Mathewes  and
W. H. Mathews
James M. White
Affiliation:
Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
Rolf W. Mathewes
Affiliation:
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia V5A 1S6, Canada
W. H. Mathews
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 2B4, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Pollen and macrofossil analyses of two radiocarbon-dated lake sediment cores in the upper Peace River district were used to investigate the controversial late-glacial geochronology of the “ice-free corridor.” The basal mineral-rich sediments contain reworked, radiogenically “dead” palynomorphs, as well as intrusive “modern” carbon. Analyses of the basal sediments from Boone Lake show that two 14C ages greater than 12,000 yr B.P. are spuriously old due to contamination by organic matter of Cretaceous age. The data support occlusion or near occlusion of Laurentide and Cordilleran ice in the Peace River area during the late Wisconsinan period. The sediment record began around 12.000 yr B.P. in the ice-dammed and enlarged Boone Lake. An initially open, sedge-dominated cover was invaded by sage, willow, grass, and poplar by 11,700 yr B.P., suggesting that a habitable landscape has existed in the area for at least 12 millennia. The data, however, do not support the ice-free corridor arguments of B. O. K. Reeves (1973, Arctic and Alpine Research 5, 1–16; 1983, In “Quaternary Coastlines and Marine Archaeology: Towards the Prehistory of Land Bridges and Continental Shelves” (P. M. Masters and N. C. Fleming, Eds.), pp. 389–411. Academic Press, New York), who suggests that ice occlusion did not occur in the Peace River Valley during the last 55,000 yr.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , July 1985 , pp. 173 - 186
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aaby, B. (1979). Characterization of peat and lake deposits Berglund, B. Palaeohydrological Changes in the Temperate Zone in the Last 15,000 Years: Project Guide Vol. 1 International Geological Correlation Programme Lund, Sweden 77–98 Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T. (1982). On the reconstruction of Pleistocene ice sheets: A review Quaternary Science Reviews 1, 1–30 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baker, D. Miller, N.G. (1980). Ultrastructural evidence for the existence of actinorhizal symbiosis in the late Pleistocene Canadian Journal of Botany 58, 1612–1620 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berch, S.M. Warner, B.G. (1982). Nomenclatural and Paleoecological Considerations of Quaternary Fossil Chalamydospores of the VAM Fungal Genus Glomus Paper presented at the Canadian Botanical Association meeting Regina, June 1982 Google Scholar
Bird, C.D. Marsh, A.H. (1973). Phytogeography and ecology of the lichen family Parmeliaceae in southwestern Alberta Canadian Journal of Botany 51, 261–288 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birks, H.J.B. Birks, H.H. (1980). Quaternary Paleoecology Arnold London Google Scholar
Bryan, A.L. (1969). Early man in American and the late Pleistocene chronology of western Canada and Alaska Current Anthropology 10, 339–365 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryson, R.A. Wendland, W.M. Ives, J.D. Andrews, J.T. (1969). Radiocarbon isochrones on the disintegration of the Laurentide Ice Sheet Arctic and Alpine Research 1, 1–14 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clayton, L. Moran, S.R. (1982). Chronology of late Wisconsinan glaciation in middle North America Quaternary Science Reviews 1, 52–82 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colinvaux, P. (1981). Historical ecology in Beringia, the south land bridge coast at St. Paul Island Quaternary Research 16, 18–36 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cushing, E.J. (1964). Redeposited pollen in late-Wisconsinan pollen spectra from east central Minnesota American Journal of Science 262, 1075–1088 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cwynar, L.C. Burden, E. McAndrews, J.H. (1979). An inexpensive sieving method for concentrating pollen and spores from fine-grained sediments Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16, 1115–1120 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denton, G.H. Hughes, T.J. (1981). The Last Great Ice Sheets Wiley New York Google Scholar
Fladmark, K.R. (1979). Routes, alternate migration corridors for early man in America American Antiquity 44, 55–69 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, H.P. (1952). Postglacial forests in the Grande Prairie-Lesser Slave Lake region of Alberta, Canada Ecology 33, 31–41 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haynes, C.V. Jr. (1971). Time, environment and early man Arctic Anthropology 8, 3–14 Google Scholar
Haynes, C.V. Jr. (1980). The Clovis culture Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1, 115–121 Google Scholar
Henderson, E.P. (1959). Surficial geology of Sturgeon Lake map-area, Alberta Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 303, Canada Department of Mines and Technical Surveys Ottawa Google Scholar
Johnston, W.A. (1933). Quaternary geology of North America in relation to the migration of man Jenness, D. The American Aborigines Univ. of Toronto Press Toronto 11–45 Google Scholar
Karrow, P.F. Anderson, T.W. (1975). Talynological study of lake sediment profiles from southwestern New Brunswick: Discussion Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 12, 1808–1812 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, P.S. (1973). The discovery of America Science (Washington, D.C.) 179, 969–974 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mathewes, R.W. Westgate, J.A. (1980). Bridge River tephra, revised distribution and significance of detecting old carbon errors in radiocarbon dates of limnic sediments in southern British Columbia Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17, 1454–1461 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mathews, W.H. (1978). Quaternary stratigraphy and geomorphology of Charlie Lake (94a) map-area, British Columbia Geological Survey of Canada Paper 76-20 Energy, Mines and Resources, CanadaGoogle Scholar
Mathews, W.H. (1980). Retreat of the last ice sheets in northeastern British Columbia and adjacent Alberta Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 331, Energy, Mines and Resources, CanadaGoogle Scholar
Nambudiri, E.M.V. Teller, J.T. Last, W.M. (1980). Pre-Quaternary microfossils—a guide to errors in radiocarbon dating Geology 8, 123–126 2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odynsky, W. (1958). U-shaped dunes and effective wind direction in Alberta Canadian Journal of Soil Science 38, 56–62 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Odynsky, Wm. Lindsay, J.D. Reeder, S.W. Wynnyk, A. (1961). Soil Survey of the Beaverlodge and Blueberry Mountain Sheets Soils Division, Research Council of Alberta; Research Branch, Canada Dept. of Agriculture, University of Alberta University of Alberta Bulletin SS-3. Research Council of Alberta Report No. 20Google Scholar
Odgen, J.G. III (1967). Radiocarbon determinations of sedimentation rates from hard- and soft-water lakes in northeastern North America Cushing, E.J. Wright, H.E. Jr. Quaternary Palaeoecology Yale Univ. Press New Haven, Conn 175–183 Google Scholar
Olsson, I.U. (1979). A warning against radiocarbon dating of samples containing little carbon Boreas 8, 203–207 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Packer, J.G. (1980). Paleoecology of the ice-free corridor, the phytogeographical evidence Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1, 33–35 Google Scholar
Packer, J.G. Vitt, D.H. (1974). Mountain Park a plant refugium in the Canadian Rocky Mountains Canadian Journal of Botany 52, 1393–1409 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, D.L. (1981). Approaching a Pollen/Spore Colour Standard Program and Abstracts. Fourteenth Annual Meeting, American Association of Stratigraphic Palynologists October 7–10, New Orleans, Louisiana Google Scholar
Prest, V.K. (1969). Retreat of Wisconsin and Recent Ice in North America Geological Survey of Canada Map 1257aCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prest, V.K. (1972). Quaternary geology Douglas, R.J.W. Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada. Geological Survey of Canada, Economic Geology Series Report 1.675–764 Google Scholar
Reeves, B.O.K. (1973). The nature and age of the contact between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets in the western interior of North America Arctic and Alpine Research 5, 1–16 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reeves, B.O.K. (1983). Bergs, barriers and Beringia: Reflections on the peopling of the New World Masters, P.M. Fleming, N.C. Quaternary Coastlines and Marine Archaeology: Towards the Prehistory of Land Bridges and Continental Shelves Academic Press New York 389–411 Google Scholar
St. Onge, D.A. (1972). Sequence of glacial lakes in north-central Alberta Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 213 Dept. of Energy, Mines and Resources Google Scholar
Schweger, C.E. (1976). Late Quaternary Paleoecology of the Onion Portage Region, Northwestern Alberta Ph.D. dissertation University of Alberta Edmonton Google Scholar
Singh, C. (1971). Lower Cretaceous microfloras of the Peace River area, northwestern Alberta Research Council of Alberta Bulletin 28, EdmontonGoogle Scholar
Stanley, E.A. (1966). The problem of reworked pollen and spores in marine sediments Marine Geology 4, 397–408 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, J.M. (1983). Late Quaternary Geochronology and Palaeoecology of the Upper Peace River District, Canada Ph.D. thesis Simon Fraser University Burnaby Google Scholar
White, J.M. Mathewes, R.W. Mathews, W.H. (1979). Radiocarbon dates from Boone Lake and their relation to the “ice-free corridor” in the Peace River district of Alberta, Canada Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16, 1870–1874 CrossRefGoogle Scholar