Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T23:16:26.699Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Deglaciation of the Central Labrador Coast and Its Implications for the Age of Glacial Lakes Naskaupi and McLean and for Prehistory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Peter U. Clark  and
William W. Fitzhugh
Peter U. Clark
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5506 USA
William W. Fitzhugh
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560 USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The age of the marine limit and associated deglaciation has been estimated from relative sea-level curves for the Hopedale and Nain areas of the central Labrador coast as approximately 7600 ± 200 and 8500 ± 200 yr ago, respectively. These ages indicate that the ice margin remained on the coast for up to 3000 yr longer than previously estimated. Because the central coast is due east of glacial lakes Naskaupi and McLean, the earliest the lakes could have formed was <8500 ± 200 yr ago, with their largest phases being fully established only after 7600 ± 200 yr ago. This suggests that the age of the lakes, and associated deglaciation of the central Labrador-Ungava region, is younger by at least 1500 yr than previously estimated. A late-glacial marine-based ice mass in Ungava Bay that dammed the lakes collapsed ca. 7000 yr ago. Within this time frame, therefore, the glacial lakes only existed for <500 yr. The persistence of the Laurentide Ice Sheet margin on the central Labrador coast until 7600 yr ago probably restricted the northward movement of early prehistoric people into northern Labrador.

Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 34 , Issue 3 , November 1990 , pp. 296 - 305
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allard, M. Fournier, A. Gahe, E. Seguin, M.K., (1989). Le Quaternaire de la cote sudest de la Baie d'Ungava, Quebec Nordique Geographie Physique et Quaternaire 43 325–336 Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T., (1968). Postglacial rebound in Arctic Canada: Similarity and prediction of uplift curves Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 39–47 Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T., (1987). Glaciation and sea level: A case study Devoy, R.J.N. Sea Surface Studies Croom Helm New York 95–126 Google Scholar
Andrews, J.T. McGee, R. McKenzie-Pollack, L., (1971). Comparison of elevations of archeological sites and calculated sea levels in Arctic Canada Arctic 24 210–228 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arundale, W., (1981). Radiocarbon dating in eastern Arctic archeology: A flexible approach American Antiquity 46 244 Google Scholar
Barnett, D.M., (1967). Glacial Lake McLean and its relationships with glacial Lake Naskaupi Geographical Bulletin 9 96–101 Google Scholar
Barnett, D.M. Peterson, J.A., (1964). The significance of glacial Lake Naskaupi 2 in the deglaciation of Labrador/Ungava Canadian Geographer 8 173–181 Google Scholar
Clark, P.U. Fitzhugh, W.W., (1987). Post-glacial relative sea level history, Labrador coast Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 19 620 Google Scholar
Clark, P.U. Short, S.K. Williams, K.M. Andrews, J.T., (1989). Late Quaternary chronology and environments of Square Lake, Torngat Mountains, Labrador Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 26 2130–2144 Google Scholar
Cox, S.L., (1977). Prehistoric settlement and culture change at Okak, Labrador Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation Harvard University Google Scholar
Daly, R.A., (1902). The geology of the northeast coast of Labrador Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Geological Series 5 203–270 Google Scholar
Drummond, R.N., (1965). Glacial geomorphology of the Cambrian Lake area, Labrador-Ungava Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation McGill University Google Scholar
Dyke, A.S., (1984). Quaternary geology of Boothia Peninsula and northern District of Keewatin, central Canadian Arctic Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 407 Google Scholar
Dyke, A.S. Prest, V.K., (1987). Late Wisconsinan and Holocene history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet Geographie Physique et Quaternaire 41 237–263 Google Scholar
Dyke, A.S. Prest, V.K., (1987). Paleogeography of northern North America, 18,000–5,000 years ago Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1703A Google Scholar
Fernald, M.L., (1925). Persistence of plants in unglaciated areas of boreal America American Academy of Arts and Sciences 15 237 Google Scholar
Fitzhugh, W.W., (1972). Environmental archeology and cultural systems in Hamilton Inlet, Labrador Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology 16 Google Scholar
Fitzhugh, W.W., (1973). Environmental approaches to the prehistory of the north Journal Washington Academy of Sciences 63 39–53 Google Scholar
Fitzhugh, W.W., (1977). Population movement and culture change on the central Labrador coast Annals of the New York Academy of Science 288 481–497 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fitzhugh, W.W., (1978). Maritime Archaic cultures of the central and northern Labrador coast Arctic Anthropology 15 61–95 Google Scholar
Fitzhugh, W.W. Lamb, H.F., (1985). Vegetation history and culture change in Labrador prehistory Arctic and Alpine Research 17 357–370 Google Scholar
Fulton, R.J. Hodgson, D.A., (1979). Wisconsin glacial retreat, southern Labrador Geological Survey of Canada Paper 79-1C 17–21 Google Scholar
Gray, J.T. de Boutray, B. Hillaire-Marcel, C. Lauriol, B., (1980). Postglacial emergence of the west coast of Ungava Bay, Quebec Arctic and Alpine Research 12 19–30 Google Scholar
Gray, J.T. Lauriol, B., (1985). Dynamics of the late Wisconsin ice sheet in the Ungava peninsula, interpreted from geomorphological evidence Arctic and Alpine Research 17 289–310 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ives, J.D., (1957). Glaciation of the Torngat Mountains, northern Labrador Arctic 10 67–87 Google Scholar
Ives, J.D., (1958). Glacial geomorphology of the Torngat Mountains, northern Labrador Geographical Bulletin 12 47–75 Google Scholar
Ives, J.D., (1960). Former ice-dammed lakes and the deglaciation of the middle reaches of the George River, Labrador-Ungava Geographical Bulletin 14 44–69 Google Scholar
Ives, J.D., (1960). The deglaciation of Labrador-Ungava—An outline Cahiers de Geographie de Quebec 4 323–343 Google Scholar
Ives, J.D. Nichols, H. Short, S.K., (1976). Glacial history and paleoecology of northeastern Nouveau-Quebec and northern Labrador Arctic 29 48–52 Google Scholar
Johnson, J.P. Jr. Deglaciation of the central Nain-Okak Bay section of Labrador Arctic 22 (1969). 373–394 Google Scholar
Johnson, J.P. Jr. Geomorphic evidence and the upper marine limit in northern Labrador Knight, D.B., (1985). Our Geographic Mosaic: Research Essays in Honour of G. C. Merrill Carleton University Press Ottawa 70–91 Google Scholar
Jordan, R.H., (1975). Pollen diagrams from Hamilton Inlet, central Labrador, and their environmental implications for the northern Maritime Archaic Arctic Anthropology 12 92–116 Google Scholar
Kidder, A., (1927). Eskimos and plants Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 13 74 Google Scholar
King, G.A., (1985). A standard method for evaluating radiocarbon dates of local deglaciation: Application to the deglaciation history of southern Labrador and adjacent Quebec Geographie Physique et Quaternaire 39 163–182 Google Scholar
Klassen, R. A. (in press). The glacial history of the Labrador peninsula and Ungava Bay region: The glacial lake enigma. Geographie Physique et Quaternaire .Google Scholar
Lauriol, B. Gray, J.T., (1983). Un lac glaciaire dans la region du Lac Minto Nouveau-Quebec Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 20 1488–1492 Google Scholar
Lauriol, B. Gray, J.T., (1987). The decay and disappearance of the late Wisconsin ice sheet in the Ungava Peninsula, northern Quebec, Canada Arctic and Alpine Research 19 109–126 Google Scholar
Laymon, C.A., (1988). Glacial geology of western Hudson Strait, Canada, with reference to Laurentide Ice Sheet dynamics Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation University of Colorado Google Scholar
Løken, O.H., (1978). Postglacial tilting of Akpatok Island, Northwest Territories Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15 1547–1553 Google Scholar
Lowden, J.A., (1985). The Geological Survey of Canada radiocarbon dating laboratory Geological Survey of Canada Paper 84-24 Google Scholar
Lowden, J.A. Blake, W. Jr. GSC Radiocarbon dates, VII Radiocarbon 10 (1968). 207–245 Google Scholar
Lowden, J.A. Robertson, I.M. Blake, W. Jr. Geological Survey of Canada, radiocarbon date list, XVII Geological Survey of Canada Paper 77-7 (1977).Google Scholar
Matthew, E.M., (1961). Deglaciation of the George River basin, Labrador-Ungava Geographical Paper 29 17–29 Google Scholar
McGhee, R. Tuck, J.A., (1975). An archaic sequence from the Strait of Belle Isle, Labrador Archeological Survey of Canada, Mercury Series 34 Google Scholar
McGhee, R. Tuck, J.A., (1976). Undating the Canadian Arctic: Eastern Arctic prehistory Society for American Archeology Memoir 31 Google Scholar
Meldgaard, J., (1960). Prehistoric culture sequences in the Eastern Arctic as elucidated in stratified sites at Igloolik Selected Papers of the Fifth International Congress of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences 588 Philadelphia, PA Google Scholar
Miller, G.H. Hearty, P.J. Stravers, J.A., (1988). Ice-sheet dynamics and glacial history of southeasternmost Baffin Island and outermost Hudson Strait Quaternary Research 30 116–136 Google Scholar
Mobley, C.M., (1988). Holocene sea levels in southeast Alaska: Preliminary results Arctic 41 261–266 Google Scholar
Peterson, J.A., (1965). Deglaciation of the Whitegull Lake area, Labrador-Ungava Cahiers de Geographie Quebec 9 183–196 Google Scholar
Prest, V.K., (1984). The late Wisconsinan glacier complex Geological Survey of Canada Paper 84-10 21–36 Google Scholar
Prest, V.K. Grant, D.R. Rampton, V.N., (1968). Glacial Map of Canada Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1253A Google Scholar
Short, S.K., (1981). Radiocarbon date list I: Labrador and northern Quebec, Canada Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research Occasional Paper 36 Google Scholar
Short, S.K. Nichols, H., (1977). Holocene pollen diagrams from subarctic Labrador-Ungava: Vegetational history and climatic change Arctic and Alpine Research 9 265–290 Google Scholar
Stravers, J.A., (1986). Glacial geology of outer Meta Incognita Peninsula, southern Baffin Island, Arctic Canada Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation University of Colorado Google Scholar
Stravers, L.K.S., (1981). Palynology and deglaciation history of the central Labrador-Ungava peninsula Unpublished M.S. thesis University of Colorado Google Scholar
Taylor, F.C., (1982). Reconnaissance geology of a part of the Canadian Shield, northern Quebec and Northwest Territories Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 399 Google Scholar
Wenner, C.G., (1947). Pollen diagrams from Labrador. A contribution to the Quaternary geology of Newfoundland-Labrador, with comparisons between North America and Europe Geografiska Annaler 29 137–373 Google Scholar