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Lake Agassiz was a large proglacial lake that existed in central North America during the late Pleistocene, fed by meltwater from the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet at the end of the last glacial period. At its peak, the lake's area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined. It eventually drained into what is now Hudson Bay, leaving behind Lake Winnipeg, Lake Winnipegosis, Lake Manitoba, and Lake of the Woods.
The Athabasca River is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than 1,231 km (765 mi) before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is protected in national and provincial parks, and the river is designated a Canadian Heritage River for its historical and cultural importance. The scenic Athabasca Falls is located about 30 km (19 mi) upstream from Jasper.
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Marine Transportation Services (MTS) formerly Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) is a marine transportation company operating primarily in the Mackenzie River watershed of the Northwest Territories and northern Alberta, and the Arctic Ocean using a fleet of diesel tug boats and shallow-draft barges. NTCL filed for bankruptcy in 2016 and its assets were acquired by the Government of the Northwest Territories later that year.
The Mackenzie Large Igneous Province (MLIP) is a major Mesoproterozoic large igneous province of the southwestern, western and northwestern Canadian Shield in Canada. It consists of a group of related igneous rocks that were formed during a massive igneous event starting about 1,270 million years ago. The large igneous province extends from the Arctic in Nunavut to near the Great Lakes in Northwestern Ontario where it meets with the smaller Matachewan dike swarm. Included in the Mackenzie Large Igneous Province are the large Muskox layered intrusion, the Coppermine River flood basalt sequence and the massive northwesterly trending Mackenzie dike swarm.
The phenomenon of paleoflooding is apparent in the geologic record over various spatial and temporal scales. It often occurred on a large scale, and was the result of either glacial ice melt causing large outbursts of freshwater, or high sea levels breaching bodies of freshwater. If a freshwater outflow event was large enough that the water reached the ocean system, it caused changes in salinity that potentially affected ocean circulation and global climate. Freshwater flows could also accumulate to form continental glacial lakes, and this is another indicator of large-scale flooding. In contrast, periods of high global sea level could cause marine water to breach natural dams and flow into bodies of freshwater. Changes in salinity of freshwater and marine bodies can be detected from the analysis of organisms that inhabited those bodies at a given time, as certain organisms are more suited to live in either fresh or saline conditions.
References
- 1 2 Smith, Derald G. (1994). "Glacial lake McConnell: Paleogeography, age, duration, and associated river deltas, mackenzie river basin, western Canada". Quaternary Science Reviews. 13 (9–10): 829–843. Bibcode:1994QSRv...13..829S. doi:10.1016/0277-3791(94)90004-3.
- 1 2 3 4 Pielou, E. C. (1992). After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America. University of Chicago Press. p. 193. ISBN 0226668126 . Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ↑ Bednarski, J. M. "Quaternary geology of northeastern Alberta". National Resources Canada. Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ↑ Kerr, D. E.; Wilson, P. (2000). "Preliminary surficial geology studies and mineral exploration considerations in the Yellowknife area, Northwest Territories" (PDF). Geological Survey of Canada . Retrieved September 23, 2012.
- ↑ Padbury, G. A.; Acton, D. F.; Sturshnoff, Colette T. (1998). Ecoregions of Saskatchewan. CPRC Press. p. 54. ISBN 0889770972 . Retrieved September 23, 2012.
