CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Cowan, W.R.; and McAuley, P.; and Bennett, G.
Date : 1998
Title : Urban geology; City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
Publication : Urban Geology of Canadian Cities. Edited by: P.F. Karrow. Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper
Issue : 42:
Page(s) : 197-205.
Abstract
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, is located on the north bank of the St. Marys River, which drains Lake Superior into Lake Huron. The northern part of the city is underlain by Archean intrusive-gneissic granitoid rocks, forming a rolling upland with thin drift. Most of the city is underlain by lowland Proterozoic red sandstone of the Jacobsville Formation, with much thicker Quaternary sediments dominated by glaciolacustrine clays and shoreline deltaic and beach sand and gravel. The surface is marked by a succession of bars and scarps formed in a declining series of former lake levels from Algonquin (310 m) to Nipissing (198 m) and below. Beach-deltaic gravels are a major aggregate resource. Widespread surface sands require care in excavation because of high water table. Other common problems involve rock excavation and organic terrain. To avoid differential settlement and frost heave, cohesive soils and organics are often used for backfill when those materials are excavated. The 1972 geotechnical data base was updated in 1978 but has since been dormant.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology