Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 04 Nov 2014
A summary of 19th and early 20th Century researchers of glacial Lake Agassiz, North America: from Noah's Flood to Upham's bathtub and beyond
A summary of 19th and early 20th Century researchers of glacial Lake Agassiz, North America: from Noah's Flood to Upham's bathtub and beyond
Page Range: 214 – 226
During the last North American deglaciation, meltwater collected along the margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in proglacial lakes, the largest of these being glacial Lake Agassiz, which existed for over five thousand years starting ~13,950 cal. years B.P. Lake Agassiz was first described in 1823 by mineralogist William H. Keating of the Long Expedition at a time when diluvianism was often used to explain ancient lakes. Subsequent researchers also recognized the existence of an ancient lake, but the first connections of this lake to a possible glacial source came in 1873. Starting in 1879, Warren Upham spent the next fifteen years researching and publishing on Lake Agassiz, eventually publishing his seminal work, the U.S. Geological Survey's Monograph 25 The Glacial Lake Agassiz. Some of Upham's interpretations were later challenged by William A. Johnston, who favored a more complex lake history.
Keywords: Lake Agassiz; Upham; deglaciation; proglacial lake; drainage history
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