Lake Minong was a proglacial lake that formed in the
Lake Superior basin during the
Wisconsin glaciation around 10,000
B.P. This was the last glacial advance that entered Michigan and covered only part of the upper peninsula. Lake Minong occurred in the eastern corner of the Lake Superior basin while
Lake Duluth
Lake Duluth was a proglacial lake that formed in the Lake Superior drainage basin as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated. was in the western end. The lakes became separated when the glacier reached the upper peninsula. Lake Minong expanded to the north as the ice retreated after 9,800 B.P. When the ice retreated from the
Keweenaw Peninsula
The Keweenaw Peninsula ( , sometimes locally ) is the northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States, leading to its moniker of "Copper Country." As o ...
, Lake Duluth merged into Lake Minong.
["Post-Valders Lake Stages in the Lake Superior Basin", in Glacial and Postglacial Geologic History of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan by N. King Huber, USGS Geological Survey Professional Paper 754-A]
Chronology
*11,400 B.P. Lake Minong covered only Whitefish Bay with the Laurentian glacial mass lying across the central Lake Superior basin.
[A late Lake Minong transgression in the Lake Superior basin as documented by sediments from Fenton Lake, Ontario; Andy Breckenridge, Thomas V. Lowell, Timothy G. Fisher, & Shiyong Yu; Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010] Lake Duluth existed in the lowlands of St. Louis Bay and Spirit Lake on the
St. Louis River
The Saint Louis River (abbreviated St. Louis River) is a river in the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin that flows into Lake Superior. The largest U.S. river to flow into the lake, it is in lengthU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrograph ...
.
*10,600 B.P. The glacial ice had receded northward, opening a link between the eastern and western basins of Lake Superior.
[
*9,500 B.P. Lake Minong expands to cover the entire lake basin as the glacial front moves northward from the basin. At this time, Lake Minong is an intermediary basin with waters from Lake Agassiz flowing in through the Nipigon River valley and further east through the Aquasabong valley.][
*8,500 B.P. Lake Superior forms as the Lake Agassiz basin joins with the Lake Ojibway, shifting its drainage into the headwaters of the ]Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
. The Lake Superior basin becomes the headwaters of the Great Lakes system.[
]
See also
* List of prehistoric lakes
Glacial Lakes in the Lake Superior basin:
*Lake Keeweenaw
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...
* Glacial Lake St. Louis
*Lake Duluth
Lake Duluth was a proglacial lake that formed in the Lake Superior drainage basin as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated.
*Lake Minong
* Lake Houghton
* Nipissing Great Lakes
References
External links
"Post-Valders Lake Stages in the Lake Superior Basin"
i
by N. King Huber, USGS Geological Survey Professional Paper 754-A
Former lakes of North America
Geology of Wisconsin
Geology of Minnesota
Geology of Michigan
Proglacial lakes
Glacial lakes of the United States
Glacial lakes of Canada
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