Quaternary geology of the Southern Great Plains and an adjacent segment of the Rolling Plains

Gustavson, Thomas C.; Baumgardner, Robert W.; Caran, S. Christopher; Holliday, Vance T.; Mehnert, Harold H.; O'Neill, J. M.; Reeves, C. C.

doi:10.1130/dnag-gna-k2.477

Cited by 16 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…First, understanding paleoenvironmental changes and their effects on the landscape will aid researchers in predicting the impact of future environmental shifts in a region known historically for its sensitivity to such changes (Gustavson et al, 1990;Muhs and Maat, 1993). Second, documenting the late Quaternary stratigraphy, geochronology, and paleoenvironments of the Southern High Plains is important in analyzing and interpreting the record of human occupation in the region.…”

Section: History Of Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several of these sites are discussed in the following section. Characteristics of the lacustrine deposits and their settings include: a relatively restricted areal extent; no obvious topographic indication of the paleobasins; and no correlation between 14 V. T. Holliday Hawley et al (1976), Holliday (1985a, Caran (1991), and Gustavson et al (1990). these deposits and pre-Ogallala basins.…”

Section: Origins and Early History Of The Drawsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Memoir 186 Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of Late Quaternary Valley Fills on the Southern High Plains

Holliday¹

1995

Memoir 186 Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of Late Quaternary Valley Fills on the Southern High Plains

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The dry valleys or "draws" of the Southern High Plains (in northwestern Texas and eastern New Mexico), headwater tributaries of the Red, Brazos, and Colorado Rivers, contain late Quaternary sediments that accumulated over the past 12,000+ years. A few previous, scattered stratigraphic investigations of the draws strongly suggested synchroneity in late Quaternary depositional and soil-forming events and regionwide environmental changes. This volume reports on a systematic study conducted from 1988 to 1992 aimed at better documenting the late Quaternary geomorphic evolution and stratigraphic record of the draws, investigating their paleoenvironmental significance, and determining whether there were synchronous, regional, geomorphic, and soil-forming events in these dry valleys. The work focused on the past 12,000 years because most of the valley fill dates to this time, but older deposits occur locally and were investigated as well.Most of the research was in Running Water, Blackwater, and Yellowhouse Draws (tributaries of the Brazos River), and Sulphur and Mustang Draws (tributaries of the Colorado River), with additional coring on McKenzie, Seminole, Monument, Monahans, and Midland Draws (all tributaries of the Colorado). Approximately 410 cores and exposures at 110 localities were studied. Samples collected from these sections underwent a variety of sedimentological and pedological analyses. Age control is provided by 53 new radiocarbon ages and scores of ages already available from several archaeological sites. Efforts also were made to recover pollen, phytoliths, molluscs, insects, ostracodes, and vertebrate faunal remains, and stable-carbon isotope trends were determined for four sites.Several geomorphic processes and features exerted some influence on late Quaternary drainage development. Quaternary jointing and subsidence controlled drainage patterns around the margins of the Southern High Plains, particularly on the northern edge (Red River system). Major segments of most draws roughly parallel paleodrainages on the buried Tertiary erosion surface. Factors influencing the older drainage likely influenced development of the present drainage. Segments of Running Water, Blackwater, and Sulphur Draws also probably follow ancient drainageways that once connected the plains with the mountains to the west. Most of the draws intersect paleolake basins or extant lake bains, which may have exerted control on drainage development by directing water to paleotopographic lows or by overtopping and interconnection of basins.The last phase of incision by the draws began after 20,000 yr B.P. but before 12,000 yr B.P. and aggradation began ca. 12,000 yr B.P. Valley fill predating this final incision is common locally and includes alluvial sand and gravel (stratum A) and lacustrine carbonate (stratum B). Eolian sheet sand with strong pedogenic modification (stratum C) accumulated on the uplands adjacent to some reaches during valley aggradation. on July 20, 2015 memoirs.gsapubs.org Downloaded from 2V. T. HollidayAfter ca. 12...

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Section: History Of Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Origins and Early History Of The Drawsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Memoir 186 Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of Late Quaternary Valley Fills on the Southern High Plains

Holliday¹

1995

Memoir 186 Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of Late Quaternary Valley Fills on the Southern High Plains

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“…Two cores Tables V and VI) placed between the playa center and Nall North provide a dated sediment column ( Figure 3, Table VII). Thirteen paired Table VI) is lithologically similar to a variety of upper Cenozoic lacustrine beds reported from the southern Great Plains (e.g., the Blanco Formation, Tule Formation, Tahoka Formation) (Reeves, 1976;Gustavson et al, 1991;Holliday et al, 1996). Organic-rich sediment about 10 cm below the top of this unit is dated at ca 12,960 yr B.P.…”

Section: Broader Geological Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Organic-rich sediment about 10 cm below the top of this unit is dated at ca 12,960 yr B.P. This is the general age range of the Tahoka Formation (Reeves, 1976;Gustavson et al, 1991). The sedimentological and paleoenvironmental significance of this unit is as yet unclear because we do not yet know whether these sediments were deposited in the Nall basin or if the basin is inset into the calcareous clay.…”

Section: Broader Geological Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Early Holocene Paleoindian deposits at Nall Playa, Oklahoma Panhandle, U.S.A.

2002

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Fieldwork conducted at the Nall North locale and the adjacent playa documents buried Paleoindian deposits and a stratigraphic sequence dating back to the late Pleistocene. Cultural debris recovered from the surface of Nall North includes bone, tools, and lithic flake debris. Two buried paleosols at the locale date to the early Holocene and hold high potential for Paleoindian materials. The Baker paleosol, a stabilized surface above the shoreline of the adjacent playa lake, dated between ca. 6870 and 7740 yr B.P., contains a rich cultural component of tools, flakes, and bone, and represents a potential surface for Angostura and Allen/ Frederick artifacts. Located below the Baker soil is the Nall soil (dated to ca. 9650 yr B.P.) that probably represents a marsh facies of the playa fill. The Nall soil represents a potential surface for Plainview/Goshen-age artifacts, although excavations thus far have recovered no cultural debris. In the playa adjacent to the Nall North locality, a sequence dating between ca. 12,960 and 5310 yr B.P. documents localized spring flow into the playa during the late Pleistocene, followed by several thousand years of playa muds during the early Holocene, and the eventual drying of the playa in the middle Holocene. ᭧

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“…The Southern High Plains (Llano Estacado) is a flat tableland, underlain by Quaternary eolian deposits of the Blackwater Draw Formation (Gustavson et al" 1991). The Llano Estacado has few surface drainages (draws) and thousands of playa lakes.…”

Section: Environmental Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle Holocene environments, geology, and archaeology in the Southern Plains

Ferring¹

1995

Geological Society of America Special Papers

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This paper reviews evidence of middle Holocene environments, geology, and archaeology in the Southern Plains of the United States. Paleoenvironmental review of data including pollen, vertebrates, mollusks, and stable isotopes indicate drier climates prevailed in this region during the middle Holocene than in the early Holocene or the late Holocene. This climatic record is registered in different patterns of alluvial sedimentology and pedology across the region and among different drainage basins. Middle Holocene eolian deposits are documented in some localities from the Southern High Plains to the eastern plains margins. Reduced biomass and reduced surface water availability appear to have forced demographic and economic responses by middle Holocene populations in this region. However, deep burial of archaeological sites under flood plains as well as a paucity of geoarchaeological investigations constrain clear reconstruction of adaptive changes during this period.

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Quaternary geology of the Southern Great Plains and an adjacent segment of the Rolling Plains

Cited by 16 publications

References 52 publications

Memoir 186 Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of Late Quaternary Valley Fills on the Southern High Plains

Memoir 186 Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of Late Quaternary Valley Fills on the Southern High Plains

Early Holocene Paleoindian deposits at Nall Playa, Oklahoma Panhandle, U.S.A.

Middle Holocene environments, geology, and archaeology in the Southern Plains

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