Nunataks and Valley Glaciers: The Icy Corridor

The historic debate of the first peopling of the Americas has focused on two alternate routes of entry: a coastal route versus an ice-free corridor. The timing of this entry is generally regarded to coincide with Late Wisconsin glaciation, which at the very least left continental ice that still covered most of the north half of North America. The former option requires much of the west coast to be ice free, with boats used to navigate areas impossible to traverse by foot. The alternate option has the precondition of ice recession between the Cordilleran and Laurentide ice sheets, providing a terrestrial route of access along the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains for both humans and herbivores. While the pendulum has swung towards the coastal route, no smoking gun exists that will deliver a champion in this controversy. With this paper we would like to present a third option that requires neither the precondition of boats nor full glacial retreat: the Icy Corridor. In this model we question that the waning glacial conditions in the Late Wisconsin were an insurmountable obstacle for travel. It is not our intent to champion a new “earliest” route, but rather demonstrate the viability of this glacial landscape as a transportation corridor that had hitherto been characterized as a barrier. For more information see arkycalgary.com.
Location:
Earth Sciences 162 (Tom Oliver Room)
Speaker:
Bob Dawe and Marcel Kornfeld (Bob.Dawe@gov.ab.ca)
More information at http://www.ucalgary.ca/events/calendar/nunataks-and-valley-glaciers-icy-corridor