Packerton Moraine

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Moraines south of Lake Michigan and southwest of Lake Erie. A composite of three maps (Leverett 1915) (Leverett 1902) (Larsen 1986) and other sources. Colors represent moraines from the same time period of the Wisconsin Glacial epoch. Moraine Composite.jpg
Moraines south of Lake Michigan and southwest of Lake Erie. A composite of three maps (Leverett 1915) (Leverett 1902) (Larsen 1986) and other sources. Colors represent moraines from the same time period of the Wisconsin Glacial epoch.

The Packerton Moraine in north-central Indiana has been considered by most persons who have studied it to be a large interlobate moraine [1] between the Saginaw and the Erie lobes. The northeast-southwest direction of the eskers north of Disko, Wabash County, and the southeast-northwest trend south of there indicated that the part of the Packerton moraine south of Disko was built by the Erie lobe and the part north of Disko by the Saginaw lobe. An esker, Miami County shows a northeast-southwest alignment, providing evidence that Packerton moraine in Miami County was built by the Erie lobe. A small area in the northwestern was deposited by the Saginaw lobe. [2] It is named the Packerton moraine from the village of Packerton in Kosciusko County. Thirteen kames and eskers complexes are mixed with sand and gravel. The till is, sandier, especially in the part deposited by the Saginaw lobe, than in the lobe passed over some source of sand, whereas the Erie lobe did not. Water-laid or wind-blown sands are found throughout the moraine. The bulk of the sand seems to have been water-deposited, but locally the sand appears to have been reworked by the wind. Few of the sand deposits exhibit dunal forms. [2]

Disko, Indiana Unincorporated community in Indiana, United States

Disko is an unincorporated community in Fulton and Wabash counties, in the U.S. state of Indiana.

Wabash County, Indiana County in the United States

Wabash County is a county located in the northern central part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 32,888. The county seat is Wabash.

Miami County, Indiana County in the United States

Miami County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 36,903. The county seat is the City of Peru.

Contents

Description

At its western end, near Delphi in Caroll County, the Packerton moraine is 2 to 3 metres (0.0020 to 0.0030 km) wide. It is on the north side of the Wabash River as far as Logansport, continuing along the north side of the Eel River. In Miami and Wabash Counties the moraine is wider and further from the Eel River, separated by a belt of outwash 1 to 3 miles (1.6 to 4.8 km) wide. Its hummocky topography shows numerous kames, eskers and lakes. The maximum altitude exceeds 830 feet (250 m), and local relief exceeds 100 feet (30 m). Only along the Wabash sluiceway is the relief greater. [2] Till and water-laid sands and gravels occur together in rather complex relationships, and a few short eskers are associated with it in the northern part of the county. The largest, in reaches 40 feet (12 m) and forms a discontinuous eastwest ridge for about 2 miles. [2]

Delphi, Indiana City in Indiana, United States

Delphi is a city in and the county seat of Carroll County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. Located twenty minutes northeast of Lafayette, it is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,893 at the 2010 census.

Carroll County, Indiana County in the United States

Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 20,155. The county seat is Delphi.

Wabash River tributary of the Ohio River in the United States of America

The Wabash River is a 503-mile-long (810 km) river in Ohio and Indiana, United States, that flows from the headwaters near the middle of Ohio's western border northwest then southwest across northern Indiana turning south along the Illinois border where the southern portion forms the Indiana-Illinois border before flowing into the Ohio River. It is the largest northern tributary of the Ohio River. From the dam near Huntington, Indiana, to its terminus at the Ohio River, the Wabash flows freely for 411 miles (661 km). Its watershed drains most of Indiana. The Tippecanoe River, White River, Embarras River and Little Wabash River are major tributaries. The river's name comes from an Illini Indian word meaning "water over white stones".

History

During the Tazewell subage, the Wabash, Eel, and Mississinewa Rivers and their major tributaries served as sluiceways for the Saginaw or Erie lobes. Outwash that was deposited along the major valleys has not been distinguished from that laid down later during the Cary substage. Tazewell outwash is exposed, however, along such minor sluiceways as Mill, Big and Little Pipe, and Deer Creeks and three southward-f lowing tributaries of the Eel River, none of which served as sluiceways during the Cary substage. [2] The Packerton Moraine in which Shoe Lake is located belongs to the moraines of the Saginaw lobe of late Wisconsin Substage. It has its origin in northern Carroll County, extends northeastward through Cass, Miami, Fulton, Kosciusko, and Whitley Counties, and terminates about the middle of Noble County. Here it joins with the Morainic system of the Erie Lobe. Shoe Lake is two miles southeast of Oswego. Indiana, and one mile south of the eastern end of Tippecanoe Lake. [3]

See also

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Valparaiso Moraine

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Tinley Moraine

The Tinley Moraine is a moraine around the Lake Michigan basin in North America. It was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation and is younger than the higher and wider terminal moraine called the Valparaiso Moraine, which is located farther from the lake than the Tinley Moraine. Compared to the Valparaiso Moraine, the Tinley Moraine is much narrower and occupies a similar swath, about 6 miles (10 km) closer to Lake Michigan, and passes through the communities of Flossmoor, Western Springs, and Arlington Heights. The moraine probably was named after the village of Tinley Park, a village southwest of Chicago that lies on the moraine.

Kankakee Outwash Plain

The Kankakee Outwash Plain is a flat plain interspersed with sand dunes in the Kankakee River valley in northwestern Indiana and northeastern Illinois of the United States. It is just south of the Valparaiso Moraine and was formed during the Wisconsin Glaciation. As the glacier, stopped at the Valparaiso Moraine, melted, the meltwater was carried away to the outwash plain. On the south side of the moraine, where the elevation drops, the meltwaters eroded away valleys, carrying sand and mud with them. As the muddy meltwater reached the valley where the slope lessened, the water slowed down, depositing the sand on the outwash plain. This created a smooth, flat, and sandy plain. Before its draining, the Kankakee Marsh, located on the outwash plain, was one of the largest freshwater marshes in the United States.

Boulder Park

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Kankakee Torrent

The Kankakee Torrent was a catastrophic flood that occurred about 19,000 BP calibrated years ago in the Midwestern United States. It resulted from a breach of moraines forming a large glacial lake fed by the melting of the Late Wisconsin Laurentide Ice Sheet. The point of origin of the flood was from Lake Chicago. The landscape south of Chicago still shows the effects of the torrent, particularly at Kankakee River State Park and on the Illinois River at Starved Rock State Park.

The Mississinawa Moraine begins in Ohio east of Lima in Hardin County, then running in a shallow arc to the south of Grand Lake St. Marys and St. Marys in Mercer County towards Fort Recovery, Ohio. Just west of Fort Recovery, the moraine again arches southward towards the Mississinewa River. The moraine follows the eastern bank of the river northwestward to where it enters the Wabash River at Wabash, Indiana. Angling towards the north and a little east, the Mississinawa moraine merges with the Packerton Moraine north of the Eel River in Whitley County near Columbia City. The moraine does not end here, but continues in a northeasterly direction through the three corners area of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio until reaching Ann Arbor, Michigan where numerous moraines intermingle. Note: There are two common spellings of the name. Mississinawa is commonly used in the older reports. Mississinewa is the modern usage and the spelling used on modern maps and projects associated with the river. Both spellings are used interchangeably in this article, based on the source material.

The Union Moraine begins in Ohio, east of Bellefontaine and the highest point in that state, towards Greenville in Darke County. Traveling southwestward and arcing a little northward, the moraine reaches Union City, Ohio for which it is named. From here, it travels almost directly westward to Muncie, Indiana. From Muncie, the moraine runs northwest ending in the bluffs overlooking Pipe Creek at Bunker Hill,Indiana, just south of Peru on the Wabash River.

Lake Kankakee

Lake Kankakee formed 14,000 years before present (YBP) in the valley of the Kankakee River. It developed from the outwash of the Michigan Lobe, Saginaw Lobe, and the Huron-Erie Lobe of the Wisconsin glaciation. These three ice sheets formed a basin across Northwestern Indiana. It was a time when the glaciers were receding, but had stopped for a thousand years in these locations. The lake drained about 13,000 YBP, until reaching the level of the Momence Ledge. The outcropping of limestone created an artificial base level, holding water throughout the upper basin, creating the Grand Kankakee Marsh.

Marseilles moraine

The Marseilles moraine is a terminal moraine that encircles the southern tip of Lake Michigan in North America. It begins near Elgin, Illinois, and extends south and west of Chicago metropolitan area, turning eastward 30 miles (48 km) to 40 miles (64 km) south of the lake in Kankakee and Iroqouis counties, entering Indiana. It formed during the Wisconsin glaciation. The glacier had been in retreat when it stopped for an extended period, depositing glacial till and sand creating the hills of the moraine.

Lake Border Moraine

The Lake Border Moraine is a complex group of moraines bordering the southern end of Lake Michigan. It can be traced north along the eastern shore of the lake basin and across the highlands between the northern Lake Michigan and Saginaw Bay. It continues around the Saginaw Basin into the " thumb " of Michigan, and south through southeastern Michigan on the eastern side of the "thumb." Along Lake Michigan, north to Holland the system is close to the shore. From Holland north to Oceana County it is 15 miles (24 km) to 25 miles (40 km) east of the shore. In Oceana County it forms the prominent "clay banks" along the shoreline of Lake Michigan. It again bears inland from Hart, where more recent moraines reside between it and Lake Michigan. It runs north of the great interlobate moraine that exists between the Lake Michigan and Saginaw lobes of the Laurentian ice sheet. A little north of Cadillac turns to the east. A short distance from Cadillac, it splits with the southern ridge or outer member heading to the Saginaw basin. The northern ridge heads towards Lake Huron, but turns south before reaching the shore. In Newaygo and Lake counties it rest on an earlier interlobate moraine. It separates in Wexford and Missaukee counties to continue south along the west side of the Saginaw basin.

References

  1. Dryer; 1892, p. 168
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 The Geology of Miami County, Indiana; William D. Thornbury and Harold L. Deane; Indiana Department of Conservation Geological Survey Bulletin No. 8 ; 1955
  3. Forest Succession in the Valparaiso and Packerton, Moraines in Indiana; John L. Oliver: Butler University Botanical Studies; Volume 10 Article 4; 1952

Coordinates: 41°15′N84°45′W / 41.250°N 84.750°W / 41.250; -84.750

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

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