Glacial dispersal of rock debris in central Gaspésie, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

The lithological content of tills in central Gaspésie is evaluated by pebble counting of 231 samples collected in excavation pits and containing 200 pebbles each. The results are used here to establish the pattern of debris dispersal and to infer the glacial history of the area. The dispersal pattern is characterized by well-defined southeasterly (160–170°) and northeasterly (40–60°) trending trains. Half-distance values of glacial transport along the trains range from 5 to 9 km for both directions, suggesting ice flow events of considerable magnitude. The volume of material in the trains represents 1–6 m of glacial erosion of the bedrock. Glacial cirques and short U-shaped valleys, about 100–200 m deep, are incised into the McGerrigle Mountains granite pluton as well as the adjacent metabasalt. The corresponding trains are aligned with these erosional features, indicating that their clast content was derived from those features during an early Alpine Glacier Phase. The southeasterly trending dispersal trains are associated with an invasion of central Gaspésie by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the Early Wisconsinan, whereas the northeasterly trending trains are associated with a local centre of outflow over Gaspésie during the Late Wisconsinan.