THE HYDROLOGY OF THE ADIRONDACK REGION OF NEW YORK STATE: AN OVERVIEW

The Adirondack Region of New York State is underlain by recently uplifted, weather resistant metamorphic rocks with glacially impacted surface topography and widespread deposits of glacial drift. Bedrock is of Middle Proterozoic age, much older than surrounding sedimentary strata, and an extension of the Canadian Shield portion of the Grenville Province. Many north-northeast trending fault/fracture zones containing numerous lakes and streams characterize the area. The Adirondack region is the headwaters of numerous large river systems contributing to the St. Lawrence and Hudson River drainage systems, and has thousands of lakes and extensive areas of saturated zone and wetlands (approximately 15% of the "Adirondack State Park" jurisdictional area is considered wetland). Groundwater moves through relatively thin deposits of glacial till and outwash, as well as through thin soils and organic deposits, with "depth of till" thought to control local hydrological and biogeochemical interactions. Current research focuses on lake, stream and wetland surface water interactions with local groundwater systems and on the role of wetlands and saturated zones in contributing to and altering hydrologic and biogeochemical signatures of watershed drainage. This session presents studies of surface/groundwater interactions within the watershed/stream/wetland context in contributing to our understanding of this hydrologically important and sensitive region.