Laurentide Ice Sheet

Laurentide Ice Sheet
Principal glacial cover of North America during the Pleistocene epoch (1.8 million–10,000 years ago).

At its maximum extent it spread as far south as latitude 37° N and covered an area of more than 5 million sq mi (13 million sq km). In some areas its thickness reached 8,000–10,000 ft (2,400–3,000 m) or more.

* * *

▪ geological formation
      principal glacial cover of North America during the Pleistocene Epoch (1,600,000 to 10,000 years ago). At its maximum extent it spread as far south as latitude 37° N and covered an area of more than 13,000,000 square km (5,000,000 square miles). In some areas its thickness reached 2,400–3,000 m (8,000–10,000 feet) or more. The Laurentide Ice Sheet probably originated on the Labrador-Ungava plateau and on the mountains of the Arctic islands of Canada, and centred over Hudson Bay. As it spread, the glacial ice mass appears to have combined with other ice caps that had formed on local highlands in eastern Canada and in the northeastern United States.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Laurentide ice sheet — The Laurentide Ice Sheet was a massive sheet of ice that covered hundreds of thousands of square miles, including most of Canada and a large portion of the northern United States, between c. 95,000 and c. 20,000 years before the present day. Its… …   Wikipedia

  • Ice sheet dynamics — describe the motion within large bodies of ice, such those currently on Greenland and Antarctica. Ice motion is dominated by the movement of glaciers, whose gravity driven activity is controlled by two main variable factors: the temperature and… …   Wikipedia

  • Ice sheet — An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² (20,000 mile²). [cite web|url=http://gemini.oscs.montana.edu/ geol445/hyperglac/glossary.htm|accessdate=2006 08 22|title=Glossary of Important… …   Wikipedia

  • Cordilleran Ice Sheet — The Cordilleran ice sheet was a major ice sheet that covered, during glacial periods of the Quaternary, a large area of North America. This included the following areas: Western Montana The Idaho Panhandle Northern Washington state down to about… …   Wikipedia

  • Patagonian Ice Sheet — The Patagonian Ice Sheet was a large elongated and narrow ice sheet that covered all of Chile south of approximately present day Puerto Montt during the Llanquihue glaciation. Some maps have the Patagonian Ice Sheet connected to the icecaps of… …   Wikipedia

  • ice — iceless, adj. icelike, adj. /uys/, n., v., iced, icing, adj. n. 1. the solid form of water, produced by freezing; frozen water. 2. the frozen surface of a body of water. 3. any substance resembling frozen water: camphor ice …   Universalium

  • Little Ice Age — The reconstructed depth of the Little Ice Age varies between different studies (anomalies shown are from the 1950–80 reference period). The Little Ice Age (LIA) was a period of cooling that occurred after the Medieval Warm Period (Medieval… …   Wikipedia

  • Barnes Ice Cap — The Barnes Ice Cap is an ice cap located in central Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. It covers close to 6,000 km2 and has been thinning due to global warming. [http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=96564 sc=89 Halifax, The Daily News: Local News |… …   Wikipedia

  • Pleistocene Epoch — Earlier and longer of the two epochs that constitute the Quaternary Period. The Pleistocene began с 1.8 million years ago and ended с 10,000 years ago. It was preceded by the Pliocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period and followed by the Holocene… …   Universalium

  • Heinrich event — Heinrich events, first described by marine geologist Hartmut Heinrich, occurred during the last glacial period, or ice age . During such events, armadas of icebergs broke off from glaciers and traversed the North Atlantic. The icebergs contained… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”