ABSTRACT: The use of pedological studies in interpreting the Quaternary history of central Yukon

CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Abstract

Soils and paleosols were investigated from pre-Reid (early Pleistocene), Reid (Illinoian or early Wisconsinan) and McConnell (classical Wisconsinan) surfaces in central Yukon. Paleosols on the pre-Reid surface indicate that it was subjected to two distinct climates, an initial one which was warm and subhumid with grassland-shrub vegetation and later a more temperate and humid climate characterized by the development of a Luvisol with a red, textural B horizon, in places over 190 cm (75 in) thick. Subsequently, the climate became colder, resulting in the Reid glaciation. Thermal contraction cracks developed in the pre- Reid deposits beyond the limit of Reid glaciation and were filled with eolian sand, as well as minor silt and clay, to form sand wedges. During the subsequent Reid-McConnell interglacial, a cool, subhumid climate prevailed as evidenced by the Brunisolic characteristics of paleosols on deposits of Reid age. This was followed by a cold period which climaxed with the advent of the McConnell glaciation. Sand wedges also formed in the deposits of the Reid glaciation; the wedges are shallower and narrower than those on the pre- Reid surface, suggesting a shorter cold period. During retreatal stages of the McConnell glaciation, a thin blanket of loess was deposited over McConnell, Reid and pre-Reid surfaces, covering the soils on the Reid and pre-Reid surfaces during postglacial (Holocene) time. Finally, Brunisolic soils developed on the loess blanket and, locally, where the loess is very thin or lacking, on deposits of McConnell age.

Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology