The Ice Age in UtahThe landscape and life in Utah during the most recent Ice Age in Utah 10,000 to 30,000 years ago.

Lake

Bonnevilleglaciers

Salt Lake City

18,000 years ago . in Utah

Intro- The Ice Age in Utah

Ice Ages Ice Ages Throughout Throughout

Geologic TimeGeologic Time

12°22° 17°Average Global Temperature (0C)

Ice Age

Ice Age

Ice Age

Ice Age

Figure modified after C.R. Scotese

PALEOMAP Project (www.scotese.com)

Quaternary

C.R. Scotese, PALEOMAP Project, (www.scotese.com)

Last Glacial Maximum 18,000 years agoLast Glacial Maximum 18,000 years ago

Milankovitch Cycles

Eccentricity90,000 to 100,000 years

Precession19,000 to 23,000 years

Obliquity (Axial Tilt) 41,000 years

Figures modified after Matt Beedle, Montana Sate University.

~5%~5% ~0%~0%

Lake Bonneville Lake Bonneville and Ice Coverage and Ice Coverage

in Utah During in Utah During the Late the Late

PleistocenePleistocene~18,000 years ago~18,000 years ago

LakeLakeBonnevilleBonneville

Uinta Uinta MountainsMountains

WasatchWasatchRangeRange

Lake Lake BonnevilleBonneville~18,000 years ~18,000 years

agoago

Utah

Salt Lake

Delta

The Rise The Rise and Fall of and Fall of

Lake Lake BonnevilleBonneville

Bonneville LevelBonneville Level18,000 years ago18,000 years ago Gilbert LevelGilbert Level

12,000 years ago12,000 years ago

Provo LevelProvo Level17,000 years ago17,000 years ago

Stansbury LevelStansbury Level24,000 years ago24,000 years ago

Hydrograph of Lake

Bonneville

Great SaltGreat SaltLake todayLake today

OgdenOgden

DeltaDelta

NephiNephi

ProvoProvo

Salt LakeSalt Lake

UT

ID

NV

Red Rock Pass

~24,000 years agoStansbury Island

Stansbury Shoreline

BonnevilleBonnevilleShorelineShoreline

~18,000 years ago~18,000 years agoOgdenOgden

DeltaDeltaNephiNephi

ProvoProvo

Salt LakeSalt Lake

UT

ID

NV

Red Red Rock Rock PassPass

Point of the Mountain

Provo Provo ShorelineShoreline

~17,000 years ago~17,000 years ago

OgdenOgden

DeltaDeltaNephiNephi

ProvoProvo

Salt LakeSalt Lake

UT

ID

NV

Red Red Rock Rock PassPass

Gilbert Gilbert ShorelineShoreline

~12,000 years ago~12,000 years agoOgdenOgden

DeltaDeltaNephiNephi

ProvoProvo

Salt LakeSalt Lake

UT

ID

NV

Red Red Rock Rock PassPass

Great Salt LakeGreat Salt LakeTodayToday

OgdenOgden

DeltaDelta

NephiNephi

ProvoProvo

Salt LakeSalt Lake

UT

ID

NV

Red Red Rock Rock PassPass

Shorelines Shorelines of Lake of Lake

Bonneville Bonneville at at

Antelope Antelope IslandIsland

ProvoProvoStansburyStansbury

GilbertGilbert

BonnevilleBonneville

Unnamed shoreline

Unnamed shoreline

Bonneville Bonneville Shoreline at Shoreline at Point of the Point of the MountainMountain

ParaglidersParagliders

Bonneville Bonneville Shoreline at Shoreline at Point of the Point of the MountainMountain

Bonneville Bonneville Shoreline at Shoreline at

the “U”the “U”

Modern Modern Barrier Bar Barrier Bar

and Spitand Spit

Lake BonnevilleLake BonnevilleBarrier Bar and Barrier Bar and

SpitSpit

Kiawah Island, South Kiawah Island, South CarolinaCarolina

Stockton Bar, UtahStockton Bar, Utah

Lake Bonneville SpitsLake Bonneville Spits

Older spitOlder spit

Younger spitYounger spitContact surfaceContact surface

Lake BonnevilleLake BonnevilleDeep-Water SedimentsDeep-Water Sediments

LaminationsLaminations

Tufa on the Tufa on the Provo Provo

ShorelineShoreline

Tufa on QuartziteTufa on Quartzite

Lake Bonneville DeltaLake Bonneville Delta

Sediment TransportSediment TransportDirectionDirection

Provo ShorelineProvo ShorelineWave-Cut PlatformWave-Cut Platform

Wave DirectionWave Direction

Bonneville Salt FlatsBonneville Salt Flats

Provo Provo ShorelineShoreline

BonnevilleBonnevilleShorelineShoreline

SaltSalt

Modern GlaciersAlaska

Devil’s Desk GlacierDevil’s Desk Glacier

Halo Glacier, Cook InletHalo Glacier, Cook Inlet

Holgate Glacier, AlaskaHolgate Glacier, Alaska

Glacial CirquesGlacial Cirques

Uinta Uinta MountainsMountains

Convict Lake,Convict Lake,Sierra Nevada Sierra Nevada

MountainsMountains

Glacial Cirque

Glacial Cirque

U-shaped Glacial CanyonsU-shaped Glacial Canyons

Little Little Cottonwood Cottonwood

CanyonCanyon

Yosemite Yosemite ValleyValley

Glacier Glacier National ParkNational Park

Mill Creek Mill Creek CanyonCanyon

“V-shaped” “V-shaped” Stream-Stream- eroded canyoneroded canyon

Little Little Cottonwood Cottonwood

CanyonCanyon“U-shaped” “U-shaped” Glacier-Glacier-

eroded canyoneroded canyon

Glacial SceneryGlacial Sceneryat Alta, Utahat Alta, Utah

U-shapedU-shapedValleyValley

ArêtesArêtes

Image by Michael Collier

Medial MoraineMedial Moraine

MorainesMoraines Chugach

Mountains, AlaskaAlaska

Image by Bruce Molnia, Terra Photographics

Glacial Features at Little Glacial Features at Little Cottonwood CanyonCottonwood Canyon

Fault Fault ScarpsScarps

TrimlineTrimline MorainesMoraines

U-Shaped U-Shaped ValleyValley

Bells Canyon, UtahBells Canyon, Utah

LateralLateralMoraineMoraine

FaultFaultScarpScarp

Glacial ErraticsGlacial Erratics

Voyageurs National Voyageurs National Park, MinnesotaPark, Minnesota

Denali National Denali National Park, AlaskaPark, Alaska PersonPerson

Little Little Cottonwood Cottonwood

CanyonCanyon

Glacial Erratics

Glacial Polish and GroovesGlacial Polish and Grooves

Grooves and polish on Grooves and polish on bedrockbedrock

Glacier National Park, Glacier National Park, MontanaMontana

Striations

Life in Utah During the Ice

Age

Life in Utah at the end of the Ice Age

Assorted Lake Bonneville Mollusks

Hunting for Hunting for GastropodsGastropods

(Snails)(Snails)

Bonneville Cutthroat Trout

Known Distribution

Today are isolated in streams that once drained into Lake Bonneville.

Utah’s Giant Ice Age Birds

Teratornis-

“giant condor”

Teratornis skeleton Endangered California

CondorTeratornis skull

Ice Age Land Bridges and Mammal Migrations

Ice Age Elephants

Mammoth Mastodon

Detail from Joseph S. Venus mural, College of Eastern Utah (CEU) Prehistoric Museum, Price, Utah

The Huntington Mammoth

(Mammathus columbi) skeleton at the CEU Prehistoric Museum

Mammoth & Elephants vs. Mastodons

Columbian Mammoth (M. columbi)

American Mastodon (Mammut americanum)

Elephants and mammoths have high skulls, while mastodons have low skulls.

Elephants and mammoths have low, highly enfolded teeth for grazing, while mastodons have high crested teeth for browsing leaves.

Elephants and mammoths are tall, while mastodons are shorter with more massive bodies.

Saber-toothed Cat

Skeletal reconstruction and detail from

Joseph S. Venus mural, CEU Prehistoric

Museum, Price, Utah

Smilodon fatalis

Giant Ground Sloth

Skeletal reconstruction and detail from Joseph S. Venus mural, CEU Prehistoric Museum, Price, Utah

Other Extinct Ice Age Mammals

Extinct Musk Ox

Extinct Long-Horned Bison

Camels, together with native horses, went extinct in North America at the end of the Ice Age

Mountain mammals that lived in Ice Age Lowlands

The American pika, Ochotona princeps,

The wolverine, Gulo gulo

Power Point Presentation (list of slides)

1. Intro – the Ice Age in Utah 2. Ice Ages Throughout Geologic Time3. Last Glacial Maximum 18,000 years ago4. Milankovitch Cycles: Changes in Earth’s Orbit5. Lake Bonneville and Ice Coverage in Utah ~ 18,000

yrs ago6. Lake Bonneville ~ 18,000 years ago7. The Rise and Fall of Lake Bonneville8. Stansbury Shoreline ~ 24,000 years ago9. Bonneville Shoreline ~ 18,000 years ago10. Provo Shoreline ~ 18,000 years ago11. Gilbert Shoreline ~ 12,600 years ago12. Great Salt Lake - Today13. Shorelines of Lake Bonneville on Antelope Island14. Bonneville Shoreline at Point of the Mountain15. Bonneville Shoreline at “U” and Point of the

Mountain16. Stockton Bar, Utah17. Lake Bonneville Spits18. Lake Bonneville Deep Water Sediments19. Tufa on the Provo Shoreline20. Lake Bonneville Delta21. Provo Shoreline Wave Cut Platform22. Bonneville Salt Flats23. Modern Glaciers - Alaska24. Holgate Galcier, Alaska

25. Glacial Cirques26. U-shaped Glacial Canyons 27. “U-shaped” and “V-shaped” Canyons28. Glacial Scenery at Alta, Utah29. Moraines on the Juneau Icefield, Alaska30. Glacial Features at Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah31. Bells Canyon, Utah32. Glacial Erratics33. Little Cottonwood Canyon Glacial Erratics34. Glacial Polish and Grooves35. Life in Utah during the Ice Age36. Life in Utah at the end of the Ice Age 37. Assorted Lake Bonneville Mollusks38. Hunting for Gastropods (Snails)39. Bonneville Cutthroat Trout40. Utah’s Giant Ice Age Birds41. Ice Age Land Bridges and Mammal Migrations42. Ice Age Elephants43. Mammoth and Elephants vs. Mastodons44. Saber-toothed Cat45. Giant Ground Sloth46. Other Extinct Ice Age Mammals47. Mountain Mammals that lived in Ice Age Lowlands