The glaciation of northeastern Kansas

Abstract

The traditional pre‐Illinoian glacial stratigraphy in the central United States has been abandoned, which leaves a void in the Pleistocene stratigraphy of Kansas. The Independence Formation is proposed as a tithostratigraphic unit in northeastern Kansas. The Independence Formation consists of all diamictons and stratified sediments interbedded with diamictons. The Independence Formation vanes greatly in thickness and texture, but it always contains erratics derived from the Canadian Shield. At least two glacial advances took place in northeastern Kansas, first by the Minnesota lobe coming from the northeast, and later by the Dakota lobe from the northwest. During the first advance, glacial Lake Atchison was dammed in a now‐buried valley. Overflow from this lake cut spillways that form parts of the Blue, Kansas, and Missouri valleys. During the later ice advance, the Kansas valley was blocked, and temporary lakes formed, from which catastrophic flooding took place. The age of the Independence Formation is interpreted as 0.7 to 0.6 million years BP. It is considered equivalent in age and stratigraphic position to type A2 and A3 tills of Nebraska and western Iowa and to the McCredie Formation of northern Missouri. This age range corresponds to oxygen‐isotope stages W16.

Buried paleoindian-age landscapes in stream valleys of the central plains, USA

“…A continental ice sheet covered this region during the Pre-Illinoian glacial stages (N0.5 ma). The advance of the ice sheet scoured stream valleys and leveled cuesta-form uplands throughout the drift plain (Frye and Leonard, 1952;Aber, 1991).…”

Early middle Pleistocene glacial sediments (780000‐620000 BP) near Kansas City, northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri, USA

“…In northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri there are few quantitative lithologic, stratigraphic, and chronological data available for reconstruction of depositional environments, correlation, and age control for pre-Illinoian glacial deposits (Todd 1896;Holmes 1942;Frye & Leonard 1952;Davis 1955;Howe & Heim 1968;Bayne et al 1971;Guccione 1983;Aber 1991;Rovey & Kean 1996). Dort (1987a) and Aber (1988Aber ( , 1991 provide summaries of the glacial geology of northeastern Kansas, and Guccione (1 983) provides a description of glacial sediment in north-central Missouri.…”

“…Dort (1987a) and Aber (1988Aber ( , 1991 provide summaries of the glacial geology of northeastern Kansas, and Guccione (1 983) provides a description of glacial sediment in north-central Missouri. Rovey & Kean (1996) present evidence for five tills in north-central Missouri, based on lithology, clay mineralogy, and palaeomagnetism.…”

“…1. Location of the study area and important glacial sections in the region: A -Exposures along White Clay Creek, Atchison Kansas, the stratotype for Independence Formation (Frye & Leonard 1952;Aber 1991); W I, W2, G. and D -Multiple till exposures in Doniphan Co. Kansas (Bayne 1968); T -Tiffany Springs expclsure (Colgan 1992 (Howe & Heim 1968); N -Type area of Nortonville Clay (Frye & Leonard 1952); V -Lava Creek B volcanic ash site of Geil (1987). Pre-glacial drainage pattern shows that streams flowed west to east (dotted lines).…”

“…shown to have no stratigraphic meaning (Boellstorff 1973) and deposits in Kansas and Missouri have been assigned a pre-Illinoian age by most workers (Guccione 1983;Aber 1991;Rovey & Kean 1996). Aber (1991) designated exposures near Atchison, Kansas ( Fig.…”