THE DESCRIPTION, CHRONOLOGY AND CORRELATION OF BURIED SOILS AND CULTURAL LAYERS IN A TERRACE SECTION, PEACE RIVER VALLEY, BRITISH COLUMBIA

1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. W. G. VALENTINE ◽  
K. R. FLADMARK ◽  
B. E. SPURLING
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Buried Soils ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Projectile Points ◽  
Peace River ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
Soil Forming Processes ◽  
Cultural Components ◽  
Eolian Material

A terrace section in the Peace River Valley of British Columbia contained seven buried paleosols developed in eolian material. Chemical, physical and micromorpholgical data showed the soils to be Chernozemic. The main soil-forming processes have been the leaching and reprecipitation of carbonates, the formation of mull aggregates, the weathering of primary minerals and the weak physical translocation of soil fabric. Five cultural components or levels had been identified in nearby archaeological excavations and these were correlated with the Ah horizons of five of the paleosols. However, none of these Ah horizons contained large amounts of organic P as have been found in cultural layers of other archaeological sections. The cultural components contained tools, flakes, shell beads, bones and projectile points. Radiocarbon dates from charcoal ranged from 5830 ± 80 yr B.P. in the second lowest paleosol to 1530 ± 70 yr B.P. in the second highest paleosol. They showed that most of the eolian material had been deposited on the terrace by about 4500 yr B.P.; that is, by the end of the Hypsithermal. The chronology of soil development and eolian deposition are discussed by applying a previously published system of horizon designations that combines and describes the gradational and pedomorphic features in soils.

Quaternary stratigraphy and glacial history of the Peace River valley, northeast British ColumbiaThis article is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue on the theme Geology of northeastern British Columbia and northwestern Alberta: diamonds, shallow gas, gravel, and glaciers.

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 549-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M.D. Hartman ◽  
John J. Clague
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Quaternary Sediments ◽  
Shallow Gas ◽  
Peace River ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Quaternary Stratigraphy ◽  
History Of ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
Selection Of

Two Cordilleran and three Laurentide glacial advances are recorded in Quaternary sediments and landforms in the Peace River valley, northeast British Columbia. The advances are inferred from fluvial gravels, glaciolacustrine sediments, and tills within nested paleovalleys excavated during three interglaciations and from the distribution of granitoid clasts derived from the Canadian Shield. Till of the last (Late Wisconsinan) Laurentide glaciation occurs at the surface, except where it is overlain by postglacial sediments. The advance that deposited this till was the most extensive in the study area, and the only advance definitively recognized in western Alberta south of the study area. Late Wisconsinan Cordilleran till has not been found in the study area, but Cordilleran and Laurentide ice may have coalesced briefly during the last glaciation. Support for this supposition is provided by the inferred deflection of Laurentide flutings to the southeast by Cordilleran ice. The earliest Laurentide advance may have been the least extensive of the three Laurentide events recognized in the study area. Erratics attributed to this advance occur only east of the Halfway River – Beatton River drainage divide.

UPPER TRIASSIC AMMONOID ZONES OF THE PEACE RIVER FOOTHILLS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND THEIR BEARING ON THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE NORIAN STAGE

1965 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 216-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. T. Tozer
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Upper Triassic ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Peace River ◽  
Accepted Standard ◽  
New Interpretation

The Triassic section at Pardonet Hill, Peace River, British Columbia, has been studied in detail, resulting in a new interpretation of the structure and of the rock and faunal sequence. This work necessitates revision of the sequence of Upper Triassic ammonoid zones and some changes in the age assignments. The following sequence of Upper Triassic ammonoid beds and zones is now recognized in the Peace River Valley: (1) Discotropites; (2) Anatropites; (3) Mojsisovicsites kerri; (4) Malayites dawsoni; (5) Juvavites magnus; (6) Drepanites rutherfordi; (7) Himavatites columbianus; (8) Monotis subcircularis (Bivalve Zone); (9) Rhabdoceras suessi. Faunas 1 and 2 are Upper Karnian; 3 and 4 are classed as Lower Norian; 5, 6, and 7 as Middle Norian; 8 and 9 as Upper Norian. The Peace River succession suggests that the generally accepted standard for the Norian Stage, established in Austria, may be incorrect. In particular, the Austrian zones of Cladiscites ruber and Sagenites giebeli are probably younger than the Cyrtopleurites bicrenatus Zone, not older, as formerly believed.

Bridge River tephra: revised distribution and significance for detecting old carbon errors in radiocarbon dates of limnic sediments in southern British Columbia

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 1454-1461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf W. Mathewes ◽  
John A. Westgate
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
The South ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Carbon Contamination ◽  
Horseshoe Lake ◽  
Tephra Beds

Ash-grade Bridge River tephra, identified as such on the basis of shard habit, modal mineralogy, and composition of ilmenite, occurs in sedimentary cores from three lakes located to the south of the previously documented plume and necessitates a significant enlargement of the fallout area of that tephra in southwestern British Columbia.These new, more southerly occurrences are probably equivalent to the ~2350 year old Bridge River tephra, although it can be argued from the evidence at hand that the 14C dates and biotite-rich nature support relationship to a slightly earlier Bridge River event.Large differences exist in the 14C age of sediments immediately adjacent to the Bridge River tephra at these three lake sites; maximum ages of 3950 ± 170 years BP (GX-5549) and 3750 ± 210 years BP (I-10041) were obtained at Phair and Fishblue lakes, respectively, whereas the corresponding age at Horseshoe Lake is only 2685 ± 180 years BP (GX-5757). The two older dates are considered to be significantly affected by old carbon contamination for the bedrock locally consists of calcareous sedimentary rocks and the lacustrine sediments are very calcareous. The 14C date from Horseshoe Lake, which occurs in an area of igneous rocks, appears to be only slightly too old relative to the ~2350 year old Bridge River tephra.Well-dated tephra beds, therefore, can be very useful in assessing the magnitude of old carbon errors associated with radiocarbon dates based on limnic sediments. Calcareous gyttja deposits beneath Bridge River tephra within the study area exhibit old carbon errors of the order of 1350–1550 years.

Ice-free conditions in southwestern British Columbia at 16000 years BP

1988 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 938-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Clague ◽  
Ian R. Saunders ◽  
Michael C. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Maximum Extent ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
Cordilleran Ice Sheet

New radiocarbon dates on wood from two exposures in Chilliwack valley, southwestern British Columbia, indicate that this area was ice free and locally forested 16 000 radiocarbon years ago. This suggests that the Late Wisconsinan Cordilleran Ice Sheet reached its maximum extent in this region after 16 000 years BP. The Chilliwack valley dates are the youngest in British Columbia that bear on the growth of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet.

scholarly journals Landslides in weakly cemented glaciolacustrine sediments, Morkill River valley, British Columbia

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 889-900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corey R Froese ◽  
David M Cruden
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Carbonate Content ◽  
Canadian Rocky Mountains ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Frost Action ◽  
Dominant Component ◽  
Freeze And Thaw ◽  
Calcite Cement ◽  
The Relationship

Slopes in weakly cemented glaciolacustrine sediments in the Morkill River valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains stand at up to 70°. Based on field and laboratory observations it appears that a contributing factor to instability is the softening of the soils by frost action and the leaching of calcite cement. Field density profiles demonstrated increased density and carbonate content with an increase in depth. Laboratory tests of carbonate content indicated a positive correlation between calcium carbonate and density in the glaciolacustrine sediments. The relationship was strongest in sands, in which leaching and dissolution were important components of softening. In clays, frost action was the dominant component of softening. Freeze-thaw tests showed a 50% decrease in strength after one cycle of freeze and thaw in the silts and clays.Key words: landslide, cemented, glaciolacustrine sediments, British Columbia.

scholarly journals A Lateglacial palaeosol cover in the Altdarss area, southern Baltic Sea coast (northeast Germany): investigations on pedology, geochronology and botany

2006 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 197-220 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kaiser ◽  
A. Barthelmes ◽  
S. Czakó Pap ◽  
A. Hilgers ◽  
W. Janke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Cover ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Vegetation Pattern ◽  
Buried Soils ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Buried Soil ◽  
Nw Europe ◽  
Aeolian Sands ◽  
Sea Coast

AbstractA new site with Lateglacial palaeosols covered by 0.8 - 2.4 m thick aeolian sands is presented. The buried soils were subjected to multidisciplinary analyses (pedology, micromorphology, geochronology, dendrology, palynology, macrofossils). The buried soil cover comprises a catena from relatively dry (’Nano’-Podzol, Arenosol) via moist (Histic Gleysol, Gleysol) to wet conditions (Histosol). Dry soils are similar to the so-called Usselo soil, as described from sites in NW Europe and central Poland. The buried soil surface covers ca. 3.4 km2. Pollen analyses date this surface into the late Allerød. Due to a possible contamination by younger carbon, radiocarbon dates are too young. OSL dates indicate that the covering by aeolian sands most probably occurred during the Younger Dryas. Botanical analyses enables the reconstruction of a vegetation pattern typical for the late Allerød. Large wooden remains of pine and birch were recorded.

Calibrated Radiocarbon Dating at Keatley Creek: The Chronology of Occupation at a Complex Hunter-Gatherer Village

2003 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
William C. Prentiss ◽  
Michael Lenert ◽  
Thomas A. Foor ◽  
Nathan B. Goodale ◽  
Trinity Schlegel
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Climatic Warming ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Population Aggregation ◽  
Selective Environment

This paper provides an analysis of radiocarbon dates acquired during earlier and recent field seasons at the Keatley Creek site, southern British Columbia. Results indicate that early occupations predating 1900 cal. B.P. occurred, but were not likely associated with population aggregation and large housepits. The aggregated village appears to have emerged by approximately 1700 cal. B.P. and was abandoned at approximately 800 cal. B.P. A break in the occupational sequence is recognized at 1450-1350 cal. B.P. and one other short break may have occurred shortly after 1250 cal. B.P. Peak socioeconomic complexity appears to have been achieved between 1350 and 800 cal B.P. Climatic warming may have provided a selective environment favoring population aggregation and intensification during this time. The final abandonment of the Keatley Creek village appears to have been part of a regional phenomenon suggesting the possibility that climatic factors were important in this case as well.

scholarly journals Soil Formation, Subaerial Sedimentation Processes and Ancient Cultures during MIS 2 and the Deglaciation Phase MIS 1 in the Baikal–Yenisei Siberia (Russia)

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 323
Author(s):  
Galina Vorobieva ◽  
Nadezhda Vashukevich ◽  
Natalia Berdnikova ◽  
Ivan Berdnikov ◽  
Dmitry Zolotarev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Formation ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Initial Profile ◽  
Formation Type ◽  
Cultural Layers ◽  
Human Habitation ◽  
Soil Forming Processes ◽  
First Time ◽  
Sedimentation Processes ◽  
Humus Horizons

The time of Sartan glaciation in the Baikal–Yenisei Siberia, is comparable with that of MIS 2 and the deglaciation phase MIS 1. Loess loams, aeolian–colluvial sands and sandy loams represent subaerial sediments. There are four subhorizons (sr1, sr2, sr3 and sr4) in the Sartan horizon (sr). Sedimentary and soil-forming processes at different stratigraphic levels are considered. Differing soil formation types of cold periods are distinguished. Soils of the interstadial type with the A-C profile are represented only in the Early Sartan section of this paper. The soils of the pleniglacial type are discussed throughout the section. Their initial profile is O-C, TJ-C and W-C. Plant detritus remnants or poor thin humus horizons are preserved in places from the upper horizons. We propose for the first time for the interphasial soil formation type of cold stages to be distinguished. This is represented in the sections by the preserved BCm, BCg, Cm and Cg horizons of 15–20 cm thick. The upper horizons are absent in most sections. According to the surviving fragments, these were organogenous (O, TJ and T) and organomineral (AO and W) horizons. The sedimentation and soil formation features are considered from the perspective reconstruction of the Sartan natural and climatic conditions. Buried Sartan soils often contain cultural layers. Soil formation shows a well-defined periodicity of natural condition stabilization, which allowed ancient populations to adapt actively to various situations. Archaeologists’ interest in fossil soils is based on the ability of soils to “record” information about the natural and climatic conditions of human habitation.

The last interglacial–glacial cycle, Clyde foreland, Baffin Island, N.W.T.: stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and chronology

1977 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 2824-2857 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Miller ◽  
J. T. Andrews ◽  
S. K. Short
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Baffin Island ◽  
Buried Soils ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Pollen Assemblage ◽  
Outlet Glacier ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Last Glaciation

A study of the stratigraphic sequence (14C and amino acid age control), marine bivalve faunal changes, and palynology of buried soils and organic-rich sediment collected from the Clyde Foreland Formation in the extensive cliff sections of the Clyde foreland, eastern Baffin Island, N.W.T., suggests the following last interglacial – Foxe (last glaciation) glacial – present interglacial sequence.(1) Cape Christian Member (ca. 130 000 years BP?)Consists of the Sledgepointer till overlain by the Cape Christian marine sediments. In situ molluscan fauna, collected from the marine sediments, contain a moderately warm bivalve assemblage. A well-developed soil that formed on the marine sediments (Cape Christian soil) contains an interglacial pollen assemblage dominated by dwarf birch. U-series dates of > 115 000 and ca. 130 000 years BP on molluscs from the Cape Christian marine sediments suggest that they were deposited during the last interglaciation, here termed the Cape Christian Interglaciation. The development of a subarctic pollen assemblage in the Cape Christian soil has not been duplicated during the present interglaciation, suggesting higher summer temperatures and perhaps a duration well in excess of 10 000 years for the last interglaciation.(2) Kuvinilk MemberConsists of fossiliferous marine sediments, locally divided by the Clyde till into upper and lower units. The Clyde till was deposited by the earliest and most extensive advance of the Foxe (last) Glaciation. Kuvinilk marine sediments both under- and overlying the Clyde till contain the pecten Chlamys islandicus, indicating that the outlet glacier advanced into a subarctic marine environment. Amino acid ratios from in situ pelecypod shells abovę and below the Clyde till are not statistically different, but contrast markedly with ratios obtained from the same species in the Cape Christian Member. Organic horizons within the Kuvinilk marine sediments contain a relatively rich pollen assemblage, although 'absolute' counts are low.(3) Kogalu Member (> 35 00014C years BP)Sediments of the Kogalu Member unconformably overlie those of the Kuvinilk Member, but are of a similar character. The dominant sediments are marine in origin, but in places are divided into upper and lower units by the Ayr Lake till. Amino acid ratios from in situ shells above and below the Ayr Lake till are indistinguishable, but substantially less than those in the Kuvinilk Member, suggesting the two members are separated by a considerable time interval. Radiocarbon dates on shells in the Kogalu marine sediments range from 33 000 to 47 700 years BP, but these may be only minimum estimates. The sea transgressed to a maximum level 70–80 m asl, coincident with the glacial maximum. Subarctic marine fauna of interstadial–interglacial character occur within the Kogalu marine sediments.(4) Eglinton Member (10 000 years BP to present)A major unconformity exists between the Kogalu and Eglinton Members. Ravenscraig marine sediments were deposited during an early Holocene marine transgression–regression cycle; the oldest dates on these sediments are ca. 10 000 years BP. Locally a vegetation mat occurs at the base or within the Ravenscraig unit. Pollen from these beds is sparse, but indicates a terrestrial vegetation assemblage as diverse as that of today. There is no evidence that Laurentide Ice reached the foreland during the last 30 000 years. Eolian sands that overlie a soil developed on the marine sediments record a late Holocene climatic deterioration. Pollen in organic-rich sediments at the base of, and within, the eolian sands record a vegetation shift in response to climatic change.

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