Tephrostratigraphy of Olympia Interglacial Sediments in South-central British Columbia, Canada

1975 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Westgate ◽  
R. J. Fulton
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Plateau Region ◽  
Distinctive Character ◽  
Correlation Studies ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Definitive Statement ◽  
Mount St Helens

The Olympia interglacial sediments in the Interior Plateau region of British Columbia contain several thin, fine-grained rhyolitic and dacitic tephras, which undoubtedly represent the distal portions of widespread air-fall eruptive units. Successful discrimination of these tephras can be made by their mineral assemblage and composition of glass, magnetite and ilmenite, as determined by use of an electron microprobe; positive identification is not possible solely on the basis of field criteria such as coloration, degree of weathering, granulometry, thickness and stratigraphic position.Each tephra layer serves as a valuable time-parallel stratigraphic marker because of its regional extent and distinctive character. Those documented in this study include, in order of increasing age: Rialto Creek tephra, about 20 000 years old; Cherryville tephra, about 25 000 years old; Riggins Road tephra, about 30 000 years old; Duncan Lake tephra, about 34 000 years old; Dufferin Hill and Sweetsbridge tephras are probably close in age to Duncan Lake tephra; Kamloops Lake tephra is slightly older than 34 000 years; Mission Flats tephra is probably older than 35 000 years; Coutlee tephra is more than 37 000 years old; and the exact age of Okanagan Centre tephra is unknown. Such a detailed tephrochronological record should greatly facilitate geochronological and correlation studies of Olympia interglacial sediments in south-central British Columbia and adjacent areas of the Pacific Northwest.No definitive statement can be made at present on the identity of source volcanoes, but it is very likely that the commungtonite-rich tephras are derived from Mount St. Helens in Washington State.

Eocene Ginkgo leaf fossils from the Pacific Northwest

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (10) ◽  
pp. 1078-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
George E Mustoe
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Ginkgo Biloba ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Washington State ◽  
North Central ◽  
Lacustrine Deposits ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Ginkgo Leaf

Middle Eocene lacustrine deposits in south-central British Columbia and north-central Washington state preserve two types of Ginkgo leaves. A morphotype characterized by deeply divided multiple lobes is herein described as Ginkgo dissecta sp.nov. Leaves that are either undivided or shallowly divided into bilobate symmetry are indistinguishable from foliage of extant Ginkgo biloba Linnaeus. These fossils contradict the widely held belief that only a single Ginkgo species, Ginkgo adiantoides (Unger) Heer, inhabited Cenozoic forests.Key words: British Columbia, Eocene, fossil, Ginkgo adiantoides, Ginkgo biloba, Ginkgo dissecta, McAbee, Republic, Tertiary, Washington.

scholarly journals Conservation Evaluation of the Pacific Population of Dwarf Woollyheads, Psilocarphus brevissimus var. brevissimus, in Canada

2006 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
George W. Douglas ◽  
Jenifer L. Penny ◽  
Ksenia Barton
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Coalbed Methane ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Gas Drilling ◽  
Pacific Population ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Recreational Vehicles ◽  
Forest Openings ◽  
Conservation Evaluation

In Canada, Dwarf Woolly-heads, Psilocarphus brevissimus var. brevissimus, is restricted to the Similkameen River valley, south of Princeton in southwestern British Columbia and the extreme southeast and southwest corners of Alberta and Saskatchewan, respectively. This paper deals with the three British Columbia populations which represent the northwestern limit of the species which ranges from south-central British Columbia, southward in the western United States to Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, California and Baja California, Mexico. In British Columbia, P. brevissimus is associated with calcareous vernal pools and ephemeral pond edges in large forest openings. This habitat is rare in the area the few existing populations could easily be extirpated or degraded through slight changes in groundwater levels, coalbed methane gas drilling, housing development or recreational vehicles.

Late Pleistocene stratigraphy of south-central British Columbia

1978 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 971-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Fulton ◽  
Geoffrey W. Smith
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Great Lakes ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Coastal Regions ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Valley Area ◽  
Coast Region

The late Pleistocene deposits of south-central British Columbia record two major glacial and two major nonglacial periods of deposition. The oldest recognized Pleistocene deposits, called Westwold Sediments, were deposited during a nonglacial interval more than 60 000 years ago. Little information is available on the climate of this period, but permafrost may have been present at one time during final stages of deposition of Westwold Sediments. The latter part of this nonglacial period is probably correlative with the early Wisconsin Substage of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Valley area. However, deposition of the Westwold Sediments may have begun during the Sangamon Interglacial.Okanagan Centre Drift is the name applied to sediments deposited during the glaciation that followed deposition of Westwold Sediments. Okanagan Centre Drift is known to be older than 43 800 years BP and probably is older than 51 000. It is considered to correlate with an early Wisconsin glacial period.Bessette Sediments were deposited during the last major nonglacial period, which in south-central British Columbia persisted from at least 43 800 years BP (possibly more than 51 000) to about 19 000 years BP. This episode corresponds to Olympia Interglaciation of the Pacific Coast region and the mid-Wisconsin Substage of the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Valley area. During parts of Olympia Interglaciation the climate was probably as warm as the present-day climate in the interior of British Columbia. Information from coastal regions indicates that there may have been periods of cooler and moister climate.Kamloops Lake Drift was deposited during the last major glaciation of south-central British Columbia. Ice occupied lowland areas from approximately 19 000 to 10 000 years BP. This period corresponds approximately to the Fraser Glaciation of the Pacific Coast region and the late Wisconsin Substage of central and eastern parts of North America.

The tephra stratigraphy of two lakes in south-central British Columbia, Canada and its implications for mid-late Holocene volcanic activity at Glacier Peak and Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 1401-1410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franklin F Foit Jr. ◽  
Daniel G Gavin ◽  
Feng Sheng Hu
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Glass Composition ◽  
Apparent Absence ◽  
The North ◽  
South Central ◽  
Tephra Layers ◽  
Tephra Stratigraphy ◽  
Eruptive Period ◽  
Mount St Helens

Several mid-late Holocene Glacier Peak tephras along with Mazama and Mount St. Helens Wn and P tephras were found in cores from Cooley and Rockslide lakes in southeastern British Columbia, ∼300 km northeast of Glacier Peak. The sediments in Cooley Lake host the late Holocene Glacier Peak A tephra (2010 calibrated (cal) years BP), four separate Glacier Peak Dusty Creek (GPDC) tephras (5780–5830 cal years BP), and a Glacier Peak set D tephra (6060 cal years BP). This is the first report of Glacier Peak A and D tephras in British Columbia. The A tephra has been correlated on the basis of glass composition and age to a late Holocene Glacier Peak tephra in the sediments of Big Twin Lake, 75 km northeast of Glacier Peak. The glasses in the four GPDC tephra layers from Cooley Lake are compositionally indistinguishable from those in Mount Barr Cirque and Frozen lakes in southwestern British Columbia. The layers likely represent four eruptions taking place over 50 years. Although set D tephra has not been correlated to a known proximal or distal deposit, its glass bears the Glacier Peak glass compositional signature and its interpolated age corresponds to the initiation of the set D eruptive period. The presence of GPDC tephra in lake sediments across southern British Columbia suggests a broad plume trajectory to the north and northeast, whereas the apparent absence of the A and D tephras in all but Cooley Lake suggest plumes with a northeasterly direction.

Evidence of Multiple Late-Wisconsin Floods from Glacial Lake Missoula in Badger Coulee, Washington

1982 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell C. Bunker
Keyword(s):  
Debris Flow ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Trace Fossils ◽  
The Other ◽  
Glacial Lake ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
South Central ◽  
Mount St Helens

AbstractCatastrophic floods from glacial Lake Missoula entered the Pasco Basin in south-central Washington and backflooded its marginal valleys. Badger Coulee, one such valley, contains beds of fine-grained slackwater sediment deposited by these floods. The slackwater sediment contains two ash layers of the Mount St. Helens set S tephra, about 13,000 yr old. The ash was deposited on a ground surface developed atop slackwater sediment deposited during preash flooding. Evidence of the former ground surface includes the reworked ash, inferred trace fossils, stream and debris-flow deposits, slopewash and/or eolian sediment, and colluvium at the ash horizon. These features and the ash were buried by slackwater sediment deposited during postash flooding. Nonflood, subaerial deposits are not present atop other beds. Instead, beds commonly are reversely graded across “contacts,” suggesting that multiple beds were continuously deposited. The exposed beds thus record at least two late-Wisconsin floods, one preash, the other postash. The pre- and postash floods may be correlative with earlier-reported floods thought to have occurred 17,500-14,000 and 14,000–13,000 yr B.P., respectively.

Orthopyroxene, augite, and plagioclase compositions in dacite: application to bedrock sourcing of lithic artefacts in southern British Columbia

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 711-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D Greenough ◽  
Leanne M Mallory-Greenough ◽  
James Baker
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Geochemical Fingerprinting ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Future ◽  
Mineral Data ◽  
Mineral Analyses

Extremely fine-grained, hypocrystalline, microporphyritic dacite (whole-rock SiO2 = 65–70 oxide wt.%), called "glassy basalt" by archaeologists, was commonly used to manufacture lithic artefacts found in the British Columbia (B.C.) Interior. Geochemical fingerprinting of dacite minerals can help identify the geologic source of these artefacts. Multiple (~300) mineral analyses show that mafic orthopyroxene (En65–80), plagioclase (An30–70), augite (Wo30–45, En40–45, Fs10–15), and olivine (~Fo85) (in that order) represent the most abundant and commonly occurring microphenocrysts. Relative abundances vary among sources. Clustering of averaged mineral data reveals at least five distinct dacite sources for lithic artefacts in the B.C. Interior. Discriminant analysis separates individual mineral analyses according to these five areas with ~ 90% efficiency and provides functions for "sourcing" new artefacts in the future. Two sites represent "quarry" locations and their scope (e.g., geographic area ≥ 4 km2, archaeological stratigraphic depth locally ≥ 2 m at Cache Creek) implies prolonged use and trade. However, fingerprinting suggests that in the B.C. Interior, tools were made from local dacite. Mineral fingerprinting uses small (~0.1 g) samples, which is important when analyzing valuable artefacts. Hypocrystalline, "knappable," microporphyritic dacite is probably common around the Pacific due to Cenozoic subduction. Thus, mineral-based sourcing could have wider application outside of western Canada.

Distribution and phylogeny of glacier ice worms (Mesenchytraeus solifugus and Mesenchytraeus solifugus rainierensis)

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (9) ◽  
pp. 1206-1213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula L Hartzell ◽  
Jefferson V Nghiem ◽  
Kristina J Richio ◽  
Daniel H Shain
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Mitochondrial Cytochrome ◽  
Passive Dispersal ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Northwestern Region ◽  
Glacier Ice

Glacier ice worms, Mesenchytraeus solifugus (Emery, 1898) and Mesenchytraeus solifugus rainierensis Welch, 1916 (Enchytraeidae), are the only known oligochaetes adapted to life in ice. We have collected ice worm specimens from over 100 populations throughout the Pacific northwestern region of North America. Their current range extends ~2500 km along the Pacific coastline between south-central Alaska and central Oregon, with most populations occurring on relatively low-elevation, temperate glaciers. Phylogenetic analyses utilizing partial nuclear 28S rDNA and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) loci revealed the presence of two geographically distinct clades (northern and southern). The northern clade comprises all Alaskan populations, while the southern clade contains British Columbia, Washington State, and Oregon State populations. No evidence of gene flow was detected between these two lineages or between noncontiguous glaciers throughout their geographic range. Our results suggest that the mechanism of ice worm dispersal is primarily active, though at least one episode of passive dispersal is noted at the southern extent of their range.

scholarly journals Geographic potential of the world’s largest hornet, Vespa mandarinia Smith (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), worldwide and particularly in North America

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10690
Author(s):  
Claudia Nuñez-Penichet ◽  
Luis Osorio-Olvera ◽  
Victor H. Gonzalez ◽  
Marlon E. Cobos ◽  
Laura Jiménez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
North America ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Eastern North America ◽  
Climatic Suitability ◽  
Honey Production ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Pollinating Insects

The Asian giant hornet (AGH, Vespa mandarinia) is the world’s largest hornet, occurring naturally in the Indomalayan region, where it is a voracious predator of pollinating insects including honey bees. In September 2019, a nest of Asian giant hornets was detected outside of Vancouver, British Columbia; multiple individuals were detected in British Columbia and Washington state in 2020; and another nest was found and eradicated in Washington state in November 2020, indicating that the AGH may have successfully wintered in North America. Because hornets tend to spread rapidly and become pests, reliable estimates of the potential invasive range of V. mandarinia in North America are needed to assess likely human and economic impacts, and to guide future eradication attempts. Here, we assess climatic suitability for AGH in North America, and suggest that, without control, this species could establish populations across the Pacific Northwest and much of eastern North America. Predicted suitable areas for AGH in North America overlap broadly with areas where honey production is highest, as well as with species-rich areas for native bumble bees and stingless bees of the genus Melipona in Mexico, highlighting the economic and environmental necessity of controlling this nascent invasion.

Prehistory of the Pacific Northwest Plateau as Seen from the Interior of British Columbia

1967 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Sanger
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Columbia River ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
Canadian Prairie ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Columbia Plateau ◽  
South Central ◽  
The Pacific

AbstractRecent excavations in south-central British Columbia have revealed a 7,500 year sequence which indicates cultural relationships with the subarctic and the Canadian Prairie Provinces, but few similarities with Columbia River sites until after A.D. 1000. South-central British Columbia and the Columbia Plateau are considered to have participated in different cultural traditions until the damming of the Columbia River about A.D. 1250 allowed the upriver passage of salmon. The similarities noted between British Columbia and Columbia River sites in late prehistoric times may be attributable to the sudden increase in the resource potential of the Columbia River.

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