During the Wisconsin ice age, North America experienced at least four major glaciations. Two enormous ice sheets formed: the massive Laurentide (Antarctic-scale) and the smaller Cordilleran (Greenland-scale). Remarkably, northern Alaska and the Bering Land Bridge remained ice-free. An ice-free corridor existed between the sheets in Alberta, though it was an extremely hostile environment for any potential migrants.
Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets shaped North American glaciation patterns
Key facts
- The Wisconsin ice age in North America had at least four successive glaciations followed by interglaciations
- The ice sheet reached as far south as the Ohio River region during glacial maximum
- Northern Alaska and the Bering Land Bridge connecting Alaska to Siberia were not glaciated
- Western Siberia was also not glaciated
- Two major ice sheets existed: the Laurentide (Antarctic-scale) and the Cordilleran (Greenland-scale)
- An ice-free corridor existed between the two ice sheets in Alberta, but was an extremely hostile environment
Sources
[PDF] GLACIAL DEPOSITS OF WISCONSINefotg.sc.egov.usda.gov
The fourth glacial stage is called the Wisconsin Stage because it was in this State that it was first studied in detail. The glaciers were formed by the ...
The Divide of the Wisconsin Glaciation - ArcGIS StoryMapsstorymaps.arcgis.com
Some of the landforms include kames, irregular shaped hills from glacial deposits, drumlins, teardrop shaped hills, ice walled lake plains, flat ...
Chronology of late wisconsinan glaciation in middle North Americasciencedirect.com
We propose a chronology of late Wisconsinan glacial fluctuations in middle North America, from Alberta to Wisconsin, based on radiocarbon dates derived ...
A new deglacial chronology of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in Wisconsinserc.carleton.edu
The state of Wisconsin has a rich glacial history with defining geomorphology such as prominent moraines, hummocky topography, thick plains ...
Geology of Ice Age National Scientific Reserve of Wisconsin ...npshistory.com
The glacial stages are named for particular glacial deposits in the respective states—Nebraskan, Kansan, Illinoian, and Wisconsinan— from oldest ...
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