Reconstruction of Pleistocene Glaciers in Rhoades Canyon and Lake Fork Vally in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA

• Main Author: Lawson, Kathryn
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2006
• Subjects: Ice cap
• Online Access: http://archives.gac.edu/cdm/ref/collection/irstudents/id/3449

Mountain glacial deposits in the Uinta Mountains provide a detailed record for exploring the history of glaciations in northern Utah. Glacial modeling of Rhodes Canyon and the Lake Fork Canyon can help explore the processes of glacial flow and can be used to infer paleoclimate within the Uinta Mountains. Moraines and topographic data were used for input to the glacier flow-line model. Ice extent and thickness extrapolations were used to test an ice cap theory for Rhodes Canyon. An ice cap would not only affect the glacial flow through Rhodes Canyon but also the flow into adjacent valleys. The extrapolated ice thickness at the peak of Rhodes Canyon is estimate at 100 to 160 meters of ice above the surface supporting the theory that an ice cap fed the Rhodes and Wolf Creek Canyon glaciers. A similar approach was used in the Lake Fork Canyon to estimate the ice flux and ablation gradient, ultimately aiding in understanding the paleoclimate for the Lake Fork. The diminutive ablation gradient of 0.35mm/m indicates a dry and frigid environment for glacial formation within the Lake Fork.