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A fan dam for Tulare Lake, California, and implications for the Wisconsin glacial history of the Sierra Nevada

1986; Geological Society of America; Volume: 97; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/0016-7606(1986)97 2.0.co;2

1943-2674

Brian F. Atwater, David Adam, J. Platt Bradbury, Richard M. Forester, Robert K. Mark, William R. Lettis, G. Reid Fisher, Kenneth W. Gobalet, Stephen W. Robinson,

Cryospheric studies and observations

Research Article| January 01, 1986 A fan dam for Tulare Lake, California, and implications for the Wisconsin glacial history of the Sierra Nevada BRIAN F. ATWATER; BRIAN F. ATWATER 1U.S. Geological Survey at Department of Geological Sciences, University of Washington AJ-20, Seattle, Washington 98195 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar DAVID P. ADAM; DAVID P. ADAM 2U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar J. PLATT BRADBURY; J. PLATT BRADBURY 3U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar RICHARD M. FORESTER; RICHARD M. FORESTER 3U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ROBERT K. MARK; ROBERT K. MARK 4U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar WILLIAM R. LETTIS; WILLIAM R. LETTIS 4U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar G. REID FISHER; G. REID FISHER 4U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar KENNETH W. GOBALET; KENNETH W. GOBALET 5Biological Sciences, Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar STEPHEN W. ROBINSON STEPHEN W. ROBINSON 6U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information BRIAN F. ATWATER 1U.S. Geological Survey at Department of Geological Sciences, University of Washington AJ-20, Seattle, Washington 98195 DAVID P. ADAM 2U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 J. PLATT BRADBURY 3U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 RICHARD M. FORESTER 3U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 ROBERT K. MARK 4U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 WILLIAM R. LETTIS 4U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 G. REID FISHER 4U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 KENNETH W. GOBALET 5Biological Sciences, Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118 STEPHEN W. ROBINSON 6U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (1986) 97 (1): 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1986)97 2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation BRIAN F. ATWATER, DAVID P. ADAM, J. PLATT BRADBURY, RICHARD M. FORESTER, ROBERT K. MARK, WILLIAM R. LETTIS, G. REID FISHER, KENNETH W. GOBALET, STEPHEN W. ROBINSON; A fan dam for Tulare Lake, California, and implications for the Wisconsin glacial history of the Sierra Nevada. GSA Bulletin 1986;; 97 (1): 97–109. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1986)97 2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Historic fluctuations and late Quaternary deposits of Tulare Lake, in the southern San Joaquin Valley, indicate that maximum lake size has depended chiefly on the height of a frequently overtopped spillway. This dependence gives Tulare Lake a double record of paleoclimate. Climate in the Tulare Lake region has influenced the degree to which the lake fills its basin during dry seasons and dry years: during the past 100,000–130,000 yr, incidence of desiccation of Tulare Lake (inferred from stiffness, mud cracks, and other hand-specimen properties) has been broadly consistent with the lake's salinity and depth (inferred from diatoms and ostracodes) and with regional vegetation (inferred from pollen). Climate, however, also appears to control basin capacity itself: Tulare Lake becomes large as a consequence of glacial-outwash aggradation of its alluvial-fan dam.Late Wisconsin enlargement of Tulare Lake probably resulted from the last major glaciation of the Sierra Nevada. The lake's spillway coincides with the axis of the glacial-outwash fan of a major Sierra Nevada stream; moreover, sediment deposited in the transgressive lake resembles glacial rock flour from the Sierra Nevada. Differential tectonic subsidence and deposition by a Coast Range creek facilitated the building of Tulare Lake's fan dam during the late Wisconsin but were less important than deposition of Sierra Nevada outwash. Four stratigraphically consistent 14C dates on peat and wood give an age of 26,000 yr B.P. for the start of Tulare Lake's late Wisconsin transgression. The last major Sierra Nevada glaciation (Tioga glaciation) thus may have begun about 26,000 yr B.P., provided that vigorous glacial-outwash deposition began early in the glaciation. Onset of the Tioga glaciation about 26,000 yr B.P. is consistent with new stratigraphic and radiocarbon data from the northeastern San Joaquin Valley. These data suggest that the principal episode of glacial-outwash deposition of Wisconsin age began in the San Joaquin Valley after 32,000 yr B.P., rather than at least 40,000 yr B.P., as previously believed.An earlier enlargement of Tulare Lake probably resulted from a fan dam produced by the penultimate major (Tahoe) glaciation of the Sierra Nevada. Average sedimentation rates inferred from depths to a 600,000-yr-old clay and from radiocarbon dates indicate that this earlier lake originated no later than 100,000 yr B.P. The Tahoe glaciation therefore is probably pre-Wisconsin. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.