Northeastern Section (39th Annual) and Southeastern Section (53rd Annual) Joint Meeting (March 25–27, 2004)

Paper No. 2
Presentation Time: 3:40 PM

TIMING OF WD-EVENTS IN THE HUDSON-CHAMPLAIN TROUGH AND CORRELATIVE R-EVENTS IN THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC OCEAN


CONNALLY, G. Gordon and CADWELL, Donald H., Research and Collections, New York State Museum, 3140 CEC, Albany, NY 12230, buffconns@worldnet.att.net

Eighteen major drainage events took place during Woodfordian deglaciation of the Hudson-Champlain Trough, from the oldest WD18 to the youngest WD1. To correlate with R-Events the ages of all Hudson-Champlain events are converted to calendar years. Events WD18 through 16, WD14, and WD12 through 9 involved tributary lakes that emptied into Glacial Lake Albany in the Hudson Valley. Events WD7, 6 and 5 involved tributary lakes that emptied into Glacial Lake Coveville in the Champlain Valley.

Events WD15 and WD13 involved drainage of Mohawk Valley waters into and through the Hudson Valley before and after the Rosendale Readvance. These two events almost certainly correlate with events R8, 19,400 to 17,800 yBP, and R7, 15,700 to 15,000 yBP.

Event WD8 involved breaching the Lake Albany dam and lowering the level to create Lake Coveville, correlating with Event R6, 14,500 to 14,200 yBP. Event WD4 was the drainage of Glacial Lake Iroquois into Lake Coveville via the Champlain Valley and thence down the Hudson Valley. Event WD3 was the breaching of the Coveville dam after it was overwhelmed by Lake Iroquois waters, correlating with Event R5, 14,000 to 13,600 yBP, creating Lake Fort Ann. Then the Fort Ann dam was breached, creating Lake Greens Corners; correlating with Event R4, 13,400 to 13,200 yBP.

WD1 was the northward drainage of Lake Greens Corners when the Woodfordian ice margin cleared the St. Lawrence Valley and probably correlates with Event R3, about 12,750 yBP.