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Lake Agassiz

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Lake Agassiz (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell) was a large proglacial lake that existed in central North America during the late Pleistocene, fed by meltwater from the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet at the end of the last glacial period. At its peak, the lake's area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined.<ref name="Perkins"/> It eventually drained into what is now Hudson Bay, leaving behind Lake Winnipeg, Lake Winnipegosis, Lake Manitoba, and Lake of the Woods.

First postulated in 1823 by William H. Keating,<ref>Template:Cite book From p. 7: "In some places pebbles were as abundant as if we had been travelling upon the bed of some former river or lake; the mind endeavours in vain to establish limits to the vast expanse of water which certainly at some former day overflowed the whole of that country."</ref> it was named by Warren Upham in 1879 after Louis Agassiz, the then recently deceased (1873) founder of glaciology, when Upham recognized that the lake was formed by glacial action.<ref>Template:Cite book From p. 18: "Because of its relation to the retreating continental ice-sheet it is proposed to call this Lake Agassiz, in memory of the first prominent advocate of the theory that the drift was produced by land-ice."</ref>

Geological progressionEdit

During the last glacial maximum, northern North America was covered by an ice sheet, which alternately advanced and retreated with variations in the climate. This continental ice sheet formed during the period now known as the Wisconsin glaciation, and covered much of central North America between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago. As the ice sheet disintegrated,<ref>The "retreat" of glacial margins is not caused by a reversal of the glacier's flow, but rather from melting of the ice sheet.</ref> its meltwaters created an immense proglacial lake.<ref name=Ojakangas>Template:Cite book</ref>

Around 13,000 years ago, this lake came to cover much of what are now southeastern Manitoba, northwestern Ontario, northern Minnesota, eastern North Dakota, and Saskatchewan. At its greatest extent, it may have covered as much as Template:Convert,<ref>Template:Cite journal, at page 874. This is the extreme figure of the ranges cited there.</ref> larger than any currently existing lake in the world (including the Caspian Sea) and approximately the area of the Black Sea.

At times the lake drained south through the Traverse Gap into Glacial River Warren (parent to the Minnesota River, a tributary of the Mississippi River),<ref name = Chrono/> east through Lake Kelvin (modern Lake Nipigon) to what is now Lake Superior,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and northwest through the Clearwater Spillway to the Mackenzie River System and the Arctic Ocean about 13,000 years ago.<ref name=Perkins>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="folio"/>

The ice returned to the south for a time, but as it again retreated north of the present Canada–United States border around 10,000 years ago, Lake Agassiz refilled. The last major shift in drainage occurred around 8,200 years ago. The melting of remaining Hudson Bay ice caused Lake Agassiz to drain nearly completely. This final drainage of Lake Agassiz has been associated with an estimated Template:Convert rise in global sea levels.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Lake Agassiz's major drainage reorganization events were of such magnitudes that they significantly impacted climate, sea level, and possibly early human civilization. The lake's enormous freshwater release into the Arctic Ocean has been postulated to have disrupted oceanic circulation and caused temporary cooling. The draining of 13,000 years ago may be the cause of the Younger Dryas stadial.<ref name = Perkins/><ref name=Broecker>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="folio">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although disputed,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the draining at 9,900–10,000 years ago may be the cause of the 8,200 yr climate event. A study by Turney and Brown links the 8,500-years-ago drainage to the expansion of agriculture from east to west across Europe; they suggest that this drainage may also account for various flood myths of ancient cultures, including the Biblical flood narrative.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Glacial River Warren outletEdit

File:Browns Valley flood 07.jpg
Traverse Gap in the riverbed of Glacial River Warren. The former southern outlet of Lake Agassiz and source of River Warren is at Lake Traverse at the bottom of the photo; the flooded valley in the center (now Browns Valley) and Big Stone Lake in the distance are relics of the river.

The lowest point between the drainage of Hudson Bay and the Gulf of Mexico is in the Traverse Gap between the U.S. states of Minnesota and South Dakota. It lies between Lake Traverse and Big Stone Lake.<ref name = Sansome>Template:Cite book</ref> This continental divide is about Template:Convert above sea level.<ref name=Spading2>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }} A sign at the dike however gives the elevation of the continental divide as Template:Convert.</ref> When Lake Agassiz existed, the gap was the outlet to River Warren. The outflow from the melting glaciers filled Lake Agassiz and then drained through the gap to the Gulf of Mexico. This mass of moving water eroded a valley Template:Convert wide and from Template:Convert deep.<ref name=Chrono>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=UphamII>The Glacial Lake Agassiz, Monographs of the United States Geological Survey, Volume XXV; Warren Upham; Government Printing Office, Washington; 1895; Chapter II</ref> Today, this valley contains the Minnesota River, joined by the Upper Mississippi River at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.

North of the gap, the Red River of the North flows from Lake Traverse north through the former lakebed of Lake Agassiz to Lake Winnipeg.<ref name=UphamII/>

PhasesEdit

Lockhart Phase: 12,875–12,560 YBPEdit

File:13,000 YBP Lockhart Phase.jpg
Lockhart Phase of Lake Agassiz, c. 13,000 YBP. Teller and Leverington, 2004 (U.S. Geological Survey)

During the Lockhart Phase, water accumulated in the Red River valley of North Dakota and Minnesota. As the water reached to the top of the divide to the south, the water drained into the ancestral Minnesota and Mississippi River systems. This occurred while the Laurentian Ice Sheet was at or south of the current Canada–US border.<ref name=Michalek/> As the ice sheet melted northward, an early Lake Agassiz covered southern Manitoba, the Minnesota and Ontario boundary country, and along the Red River south of Fargo, North Dakota. The Lockhart Phase is associated with the Herman lake stage (Template:Convert), the highest shoreline of Lake Agassiz. The Big Stone Moraine formed the southern boundary of the lake. During the Lockhart Phase the lake is estimated to have been Template:Convert deep, with greater depths near the glacier.<ref name=Michalek/>

Moorhead Phase: 12,560–11,690 YBPEdit

As the ice sheet melted northward, Lake Agassiz found a lower outlet through the Kaministikwia route along the modern Minnesota–Ontario border. This moved water to Lake Duluth, a proglacial lake in the Lake Superior basin. From there the water drained south via an ancestral St. Croix and Mississippi River systems. The lake drained below the Herman lake beaches until isostatic rebound and glacial advances closed the Kaministikwia route. This stabilized the lake at the Norcross lake stage (Template:Convert).<ref name=Michalek/><ref>(Thorleifson, 1996).</ref> The average depth of Lake Agassiz during the late Moorhead Phase was Template:Convert. Drainage from Lake Agassiz continued to flow southward out of the ancient Minnesota and Mississippi River systems into the Gulf of Mexico.<ref name=Michalek/>

Emerson Phase: 11,690–10,630 YBPEdit

During the Emerson Phase, lake levels and drainage patterns continually fluctuated. The lake switched from a southward outlet to a northwestern outlet, and may have been static without a significant outlet during this phase. Isostatic rebound changed the elevation of the land, and this, combined with changes in the volume of meltwater from the ice margin and the closure of the Kaministikwia outlet in the east increased the size of the northern end of the lake.<ref name=Michalek/> One hypothesis postulates that the lake was a 'terminal lake' with water inflows and evapotranspiration being equal. Dating of the glacial moraines shows that the Clearwater and Athabasca River system and Lake Nipigon and Minong basin were still ice-covered. A period of precipitation and meltwater input balance with the rate of evapotranspiration may have existed for a short period of time.<ref name=Michalek/> During this phase, the Clearwater and Athabasca River system outlet opened. Isostatic rebound opened the southern outlet for a time, creating the Norcross (Template:Convert), Tintah (Template:Convert), and Upper Campbell (Template:Convert) beaches. The south outlet was permanently closed at the end of Emerson Phase.<ref name=Michalek/>

Nipigon Phase: 10,630–9,160 YBPEdit

The opening of the Kaministiquia outlet to the east initiated the onset of the Nipigon Phase. The lower lake level ended the southern outlet through the ancestral Minnesota and Mississippi River systems.<ref name=Michalek/> The ice sheets advanced and blocked the northwestern outlet through the Clearwater and Athabasca systems. There were several other low level outlets into the Lake Minong basin, including the Kaministiquia and the Lake Nipigon outlet. These allowed large amounts of water to flow from Lake Agassiz into Lake Minong. A series of ice advances and retreats between 10,500 and 9,500 YBP blocked the Lake Nipigon outlet and the other low level outlets, creating intermittent catastrophic outbursts of water into the Lake Minong basin.<ref name=Michalek/>

These large inflows of water raised Lake Minong lake levels and flowed into Lake Algonquin in the Lake Michigan and Huron basins.<ref name=Michalek/> These outbursts refilled the Lake Michigan and Huron basins, which are extreme low water levels of Lake Chippewa (Lake Michigan basin) and Lake Stanley (Lake Huron basin). This was due to isostatic rebound of the northern shorelines combined with the opening of the North Bay outlet of the Lake Huron basin.<ref name=Michalek/> These repetitive outbursts from Lake Agassiz flooded the Lake Minong basin, then flowed over into the Lake Stanley basin, and then flowed through the North Bay drainage route into the Champlain Sea (present day St. Lawrence lowland).<ref name=Michalek/> The shifting ice sheet created fluctuating drainage channels into the Lake Nipigon and Superior basins. A dozen beaches were created during short periods of stability. Towards the end of the Nipigon Phase, Lake Agassiz reached its largest geographical size as it joined with Lake Ojibway in the east.<ref name=Michalek/>

Ojibway Phase: 9,160–8,480 YBPEdit

File:7,900 Glacial Lake Agassiz & Glacial Lake Ojibway (7900) use fileTeller and Leverington, 2004.jpg
Map of Glacial Lake Agassiz and Lake Ojibway c. 7900 YBP. Designed from Teller and Leverington, 2004 (U.S. Geological Survey)

The Ojibway Phase is named for the glacial lake along the ice front in northern Ontario. Lake Ojibway merged with Lake Agassiz at this time. Isostatic rebound of glaciated lands that were south of the ice sheet created a long linear lake from the Saskatchewan–Manitoba border to Quebec. This long lake drained through the eastern outlet at Template:Ill, into the Ottawa River valley.<ref name=Michalek/> Lake Agassiz-Ojibway drainage raised sea levels. The results can be seen in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and eastern Maine. Marine records from the North Atlantic have identified two separate episodes, linked to northern hemisphere cooling in 8,490 YBP and 8,340–8,180 YBP. These may be linked with the Ojibway Phase of Lake Agassiz and may indicate large amounts of drainage from the Ottawa River valley and the Tyrrell Sea (ancestral Hudson Bay).<ref name=Michalek/>

The Laurentide Ice Sheet continued to recede. Continued warming shrank the ice front towards present day Hudson Bay. Here, the Lake Agassiz northward outlet drained into the Tyrrell Sea. This breach dropped the water level below the eastern Kinojevis outlet. The drainage was followed by the disintegration of the adjacent ice front at about 8,480 YBP. This brought on the end of Lake Agassiz. The ice sheet continued its northward retreat to Baffin Island, leaving the North American mainland around 5,000 YBP.<ref name=Michalek/>

Lakes of the Lake Agassiz basinEdit

Numerous lakes have formed in this glacial lake basin. The best known are the Great Lakes of Manitoba; Lake Winnipeg, Lake Manitoba, and Lake Winnipegosis. A cluster of smaller lakes surround these, including: Cedar Lake, through which the Saskatchewan River flows; Lake Dauphin, south of Lake Winnipegosis and tributary to it; and Lake St. Martin, on the Fairford or Little Saskatchewan River, the outlet of lakes Manitoba and Winnipegosis.<ref name=UphamII/> In northern Minnesota, there are Roseau, Thief, Mud, and Maple lakes, besides three large lakes of that state, Rainy Lake, the Lake of the Woods, and Red Lake.<ref name=UphamII/>

Lake Length Width Area Comments Elevation
(Template:Abbr) 		Template:Abbr depth Outlet
Lake Winnipeg Template:Convert The southern area is Template:Convert wide. The northern area is Template:Convert wide. Template:Convert 85 miles to a strait Template:Convert wide, which extends Template:Convert to Cape Dog. The narrowest is about Template:Convert wide with five-sixths of the lake north of the cape, and one-sixth south. Template:Convert above sea level. Max. depth < Template:Convert. Much is Template:Convert deep<ref name=UphamII/> Nelson River
Lake Manitoba Template:Convert Template:Convert (south end) Template:Convert Narrows to a strait of Template:Convert width, becoming irregular to the north Template:Convert Template:Convert Fairford River to Lake Winnipeg

<ref name=UphamII/>

Lake Winnipegosis Template:Convert with the northern portion bent towards the west Template:Convert Template:Convert Lies in the same valley as Lake Manitoba, parallel to Lake Winnipeg Template:Convert Template:Convert Water Hen River and Lake to Lake Manitoba<ref name=UphamII/>
Rainy Lake Template:Convert, with the northern portion bent towards the west Template:Convert Template:Convert Numerous bays, narrows and islands. Template:Convert Template:Convert Rainy River to Lake of the Woods<ref name=UphamII/>
Lake of the Woods Template:Convert, with the northern portion bent towards the west Template:Convert Template:Convert Irregularly shaped with a substantial peninsula on the west side Template:Convert Template:Convert Winnipeg River to Lake Winnipeg<ref name=UphamII/>
Red Lake Template:Convert for each lobe with a total of Template:Convert across both Template:Convert for each lobe Template:Convert Divided into two equal areas by a strait 1,200 metres (3/4 of a mile) wide.<ref name=UphamII/> Template:Convert Template:Convert Red Lake River to the Red River of the North and Lake Winnipeg<ref name=UphamII/>

Glacial lakes draining into Lake AgassizEdit

Glacial Lake Souris formed along the Manitoba and North Dakota border, forming a crescent around the west side of the Turtle Mountains. Lake Souris had three successive outlets: the Sheyenne River, the Pembina River, and finally the Assiniboine River.<ref>(Upham, 1895), pp. 267; 270–272.</ref><ref>The land around former Lake Souris inclines downhill along a northeast direction; thus, as the ice sheet retreated northwards, it exposed outlets of successively lower elevation. (Upham, 1895), pp. 270–272.</ref> Initially, Lake Souris' southern bay drained into the Sheyenne River, a tributary of the Red River, which in turn flowed into Lake Agassiz.<ref>(Upham, 1895), p. 268.</ref> However, after the ice sheet had retreated enough to uncover Turtle Mountain, the northern bay of Lake Souris found an outlet at the "elbow" of the modern Souris River; the elbow is about Template:Convert southwest of the present mouth of the Souris River.<ref name=UphamII/>Template:Rp From this elbow, the lake's waters flowed southeast and entered the Pembina River, now a tributary of the Red River,<ref name=UphamII/>Template:Rp and the Pembina, in turn, entered Lake Agassiz at its Assiniboine embayment.<ref>(Upham, 1895), Plate IX (following p. 36).</ref> When the ice sheet retreated north of the Assiniboine River, Lake Souris drained via that river into Lake Agassiz.<ref>(Upham, 1895), pp. 271–272; see also Plate XXI (following p. 268).</ref> (Pelican Lake in Langs Valley of Manitoba occupies what was once the northern shore of Lake Souris.<ref>(Upham, 1895), see Plate XXI (following p. 268).</ref>)

The lower part of the Saskatchewan River basin near the river's mouth at Cedar Lake was clear of the ice-sheet before Lake Agassiz began to drain to northeast.<ref name=UphamII/> Lake Saskatchewan existed on about Template:Convert of the North Saskatchewan River between Saskatoon and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. A few miles east of Lake Saskatchewan's outlet, near the modern junction of the north and south branches, it entered Lake Agassiz. This Saskatchewan embayment extended for Template:Convert along the modern Saskatchewan River route.<ref name=UphamII/>

Formation of beachesEdit

Raised beaches, many kilometres from any current water, mark the former boundaries of the lake. While the Red River gradually descends from south to north, these old strandlines ascend as one goes north, due to isostatic rebound since glaciation.<ref name=Ojakangas/>

When Lake Agassiz outflowed to the southEdit

The highest shore of Lake Agassiz is called the Herman Beach. It is named for Herman, Minnesota, in Grant County. The Herman Beach is the highest shoreline and can be traced from the historic outlet at Lake Traverse on the border of Minnesota and South Dakota. The beach fluctuates between Template:Convert above sea level. The altitude of Lake Traverse at Template:Convert above sea level at the Traverse Gap at Brown's Valley is at Template:Convert.<ref name=UphamVII/> This was the south outlet of Lake Agassiz.<ref name=UphamVI>The Glacial Lake Agassiz;, Monographs of the United States Geological Survey, Volume XXV; Warren Upham; Government Printing Office, Washington; 1895; Chapter VI</ref>

The Herman Beach displays numerous deltas from the major rivers that entered Lake Agassiz. In Minnesota and North Dakota, these include the Buffalo River Delta, Sand Hill River Delta, Sheyenne River Delta, Elk Valley Delta, and the Pembina River Delta. In Manitoba, there is the Assiniboine River Delta.<ref name=UphamVI/>

  • Beaches of the Norcross stages: The Norcross shoreline lies near the Herman shore on the slope of eroded till.<ref name=UphamVII>The Glacial Lake Agassiz;, Monographs of the United States Geological Survey, Volume XXV; Warren Upham; Government Printing Office, Washington; 1895; Chapter VII</ref>
  • Beaches of the Tintah Stage: The Tintah beaches are Template:Convert above sea level.<ref name=UphamVII/>
  • Beaches of the Campbell Stage: These have a well developed profile and are useful in establishing the boundary of the lake when it ceased to flow south into the River Warren.<ref name=UphamVII/>
  • Beaches of the McCauleyville Stage: The channel of the River Warren, flowing out of Lake Agassiz, eroded the channel below the level of Traverse Lake and Big Stone Lake, down to Template:Convert, the deepest part of Lake Traverse. The southern portions of the McCauleyville shoreline coincides with the levels of high and low water in Lake Traverse, which are Template:Convert above sea level.<ref name=UphamVII/>

When Lake Agassiz outflowed to the northeastEdit

Fourteen shorelines of Lake Agassiz have been identified, which lie below the McCauleyville beaches. These formed when the River Warren could no longer receive the outflow of the lake. This occurred when a lower outlet was found and the lake shrank with the release of the lake's waters.<ref name=UphamVIII>The Glacial Lake Agassiz;, Monographs of the United States Geological Survey, Volume XXV; Warren Upham; Government Printing Office, Washington; 1895; Chapter VIII</ref> The three highest shorelines are named the Blanchard beaches, and the next five in descending order are the Hillsboro, the two Emerado, and the two Ojata beaches, from towns on or near their course in North Dakota.<ref name=UphamVIII/>

SoilsEdit

The fertile soils of the Red River Valley, now drained by the Red River of the North, were formed from lacustrine deposits of silt from Lake Agassiz.<ref name=Ojakangas/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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SourcesEdit

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  • Pielou, E. C. (1991). After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Template:ISBN
  • Thorleifson, L.H. (1996). "Review of Lake Agassiz History", Sedimentology, Geomorphology, and History of the Central Lake Agassiz Basin, Geological Association of Canada Field Trip Guidebook for GAC/MAC Joint Annual Meeting, pp. 55–84.
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External linksEdit

ArticlesEdit

MapsEdit

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