Sedimentological analysis of a Pleistocene valley-fill: Use of penetrative investigations to revise regional maps of surficial geology in northern Cattaraugus County, New York
- AFI Environmental, Lockport, NY (United States)
- Geological Survey, Albany, NY (United States)
Pleistocene valley-fill deposits across the Appalachian Plateau in western New York can be highly variable in thickness, glacigenic facies, and age. Several regional maps (1:250,000) provide valuable information regarding the regional interpretations and trends of these and other surficial deposits but are not meant for site-specific interpretations. For environmental and land-use planning, detailed penetrative investigations must augment the existing regional maps. A detailed investigation of a Pleistocene valley-fill sequence has been conducted in Carpenter Brook Valley (CBV) in northeastern Cattaraugus County, NY. Data from 133 test pits, over 70 test borings, available gravel pit exposures, and shallow seismic refraction indicate that the CBV is filled by up to 117 feet of primarily late Wisconsinan tills. These include densely compacted deformation and lodgement tills, ablation tills, and muddy/diamictic flow tills. The deformation and lodgement tills have average %Fines:%Sand:%Gravel of 50:30:20 and contain large bedrock rafts. The flow tills have average grain size of 30:40:30, are matrix-supported, contain randomly-oriented blocks of local Devonian bedrock, and are massive to weakly normally-graded. These were most likely deposited by debris flows that were shed from adjacent valley walls. Throughgoing glaciofluvial deposits are not preserved in CBV but do occupy the northward adjacent Johnson Creek Valley (JCV). Paleocurrent data collected from imbricated gravels in JCV and at the confluence of JCV and CBV suggest that ancestral streams drained predominantly westward from JCV and may have deposited sand and gravel radially towards the confluence with CBV. This study emphasizes the potential variations between individual glacial valley-fill sequences in western New York and the potential differences between regional and local surficial geologic maps.
- OSTI ID:
- 5722541
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9303211--
- Journal Information:
- Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States), Journal Name: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs; (United States) Vol. 25:2; ISSN GAAPBC; ISSN 0016-7592
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
580000* -- Geosciences
AGE ESTIMATION
CENOZOIC ERA
DEPOSITION
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EXPLORATION
EXPLORATORY WELLS
GEOLOGIC AGES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
GEOLOGY
GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYS
GLACIERS
GRAIN SIZE
MAPPING
MICROSTRUCTURE
MORAINES
NEW YORK
NORTH AMERICA
PETROLOGY
PLEISTOCENE EPOCH
QUATERNARY PERIOD
SEISMIC SURVEYS
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
SIZE
SURVEYS
USA
WELLS