Portage Escarpment Deep History

[email protected]

bluestoneheights.orgRoy Larick, PhD

Bluestone Heights Bluestone

Heights

Research Education Advocacy

Cuyahoga

Ch

agrin

Tinkers

lake

pla

in Lake

Erie

CSU UST 259May 23, 2015

Portage Escarpment* Deep History

Euclid Creek window

Deep History perspective

Bedrock, Glaciers, Humans

Event Cycle theory

*Portage Escarpment (on Lake Erie’s south shore):Sloped terrain connecting Appalachian Highland and Central Lowland

Hu

ron

Val

ley

Escarpment

A

A

B

B

CC

Portage

Lake Erie

central b

asin

Euclid Falls

Euclid C

reek

Euclid Creek

Cuyahoga Valley

Eu

clid C

reek

Euclid Creek window

Euclid Creek Reservation Quarry Picnic Area

on the Portage Escarpment

History begins with the human brain


Weave diverse fields of study into a unifying narrative of life on earth

David Christian

Big History Project

world history: 8 thresholds

Anthropocene


Edward O. Wilson

Comprehend history to rebalance natural & human forces

No matter how dominant our species has become, we are still part of nature

Deep History

Inter-weaved human and natural history

Helps us understand our place in nature

Humans belong to nature


Humans over-rely on natural ecosystems

Decouple human welfare from environmental impacts

Cities occupy 2% of the Earth’s surface

April 15, 2015

Technology to stabilize the climate and protect nature

Develop cities


Landscapes grow and retreat in cycles

Event Cycles

time + event (action) = erosion to low peak

Humans act upon landscape in cycles

time + event (action) = deposition to high peakcycle

erode

erodedeposit

t (action) deposit / erodex (amplitude) sediment volume

deposit

years ago process phase era

40 a-? urban abandonment Post Industrial210-40 a industrialization Anthropocene

16 Ka-present post-glacial erosion Holocene 23-16 Ka late glacial deposition Late Pleistocene

300 Ma-23 Ka hard rock erosion Mesozoic/Cenozoic 400-300 Ma hard rock deposition Paleozoic

Portage Escarpment Event Cycles

1:

2:

3:

PS

UC

Eu

clid

Du

gw

ay

Do

an

Kingsbury

Tinkers

Mill

Nine M

ile

Gully

Chagrin

Cu

yah

og

a

Portage Escarpment, Chagrin to Cuyahoga, looking SE from above Lake Erie

N

Tri-CEast

A

B

Bedrock deposition

Portage Escarpment Deep History

NE WA B

Cuyahoga shale

Cleveland shale Chagrin shale

Sharon sandstone

Cuyahoga R.

Chagrin R.

Tri-C East

Lake Erie

Berea Sandstone Euclid b’stone

Bluestone Heights Portage Escarpmentschematic view SE from Lake Erie

exaggerated vertical scale

lake

p

lain

Tinkers Creek valley

Ch

agrin

Valley

Cuyahoga Valley

sandst

oneblue

ston

e

terrace

Ber

eaEu

clid

Lake Erie terrace

Tri-CEast

bedrock terraces

PS

UC

Euclid

Sharon S

andstone cap

Uplift: 300 Ma


Ch

agrin

Valley

Cuyahoga Valley

16 Ka - present

Lake Erie

lake

p

lain

Stream development

Defiance Moraine

Euclid

PS

UC

Mill

Cre

ek

Pepper

Willey Creek

Haw

tho

rn C

reek

Creek

Bea

r C

reek

16 Ka – present

plan view

Final glacial retreatGlacial retreat & stream cutting

Defiance ice front, 16 ka


Ch

agrin

Valley

Cuyahoga Valley

16 Ka - present

Lake Erie

lake

p

lain

Stream development

Defiance Moraine

Euclid MoraineEuclid

Mill

Cre

ek

Pepper

Willey Creek

Haw

tho

rn C

reek

Creek

Doan Brook

Euclid

Dugway Brook

Nine M

ile Creek

Kingsbury Run

Morgan Run

Burke Brook

Sherm

an C

reek

Euclid

Shaw B

rook

Blue Rock

Creek

Creek EB

Bea

r C

reek

PS

UC

Final glacial retreat

Euclid ice front, 14 ka

16 Ka – present

plan view


Ch

agrin

Valley

Cuyahoga Valley

16 Ka - present

Lake Erie

lake

p

lain

Stream development

Defiance Moraine

Euclid MoraineEuclid

Mill

Cre

ek

Pepper

Willey CreekB

ear

Cre

ek

Haw

tho

rn C

reek

Creek

Doan Brook

Euclid

Dugway Brook

Nine M

ile Creek

Kingsbury Run

Morgan Run

Burke Brook

Sherm

an C

reek

Euclid

Shaw B

rook

Blue Rock

Creek

Creek EB

Painesville Moraine

Gully Brook

PS

UC

Final glacial retreat

Painesville ice front, 13 ka

16 Ka – present

plan view


Ch

agrin

Valley

Doan Brook

Euclid

Dugway Brook

Nine M

ile Creek

Kingsbury RunM

ill C

reekMorgan Run

Burke Brook

Pepper

Willey CreekB

ear

Cre

ek

Sherm

an C

reek

Haw

tho

rn C

reek

Cuyahoga Valley

Gully Brook

Euclid

Shaw B

rook

Blue Rock

Lake Erie

lake

p

lain

Creek

Creek

Creek EB

Def

ian

ce

Moraine

EuclidMoraine

P’ville M

PS

UC

Natural streams

Euclid & Nine Mile

Upper Doan & Dugway

Lower Doan & Dugway

Euclid Creek Tunnel

NEORSDInterceptor sewers


Ch

agrin

Valley

Cuyahoga Valley

Lake Erie

Anthropogenic streams

Tri-CEast

PSUC

Tri-C East

Shaker Hts

University Hts

East Cleveland

Bratenahl

Lyndhurst

Beechwood

W’by Hills

Wickliffe

S. Euclid

Euclid

Collinwood/Nottingham

Glenville

Shaker Hts

Rich Hts

Bratenahl Bratenahl

Cleveland Heights

Univer.Circle

Cleveland Heights

W’by Hills

Flats

Cuyahoga R.

Chagrin R.

Lake ErieEasterly, E 140th

16 Ka – present

profile view

Stream development

Portage Escarpment municipalities Chagrin to Cuyahoga Rivers


Cuyahoga shale


Cuyahoga R.

Chagrin R.

16 Ka

Sharon sandstone ~1200’ above sea level

Defiance ice base

16 Ka – present

profile view

Stream development

Cuyahoga R.

Lake Maumee

Cuyahoga shale

Cleveland shale Chagrin shaleChagrin R.

Sharon sandstone

~800’ asl

14.5 Ka


Euclid Nine Mile

Shaw Dugway Blue Rock

Doan Kingsbury

16 Ka – present

profile view

Stream development

Cuyahoga R.

Lake Erie

Cuyahoga shale


Gullly Euclid Nine Mile Shaw Dugway Blue Rock Doan Kingsbury

Chagrin R.

Sharon sandstone

12 Ka (Niagara Falls opens)

~500’ asl


16 Ka – present

profile view

Stream development

Cuyahoga R.

Lake Erie

Cuyahoga shale


Gully Euclid Nine Mile Shaw Dugway Blue Rock Doan Kingsbury

Chagrin R.

Sharon sandstone

600 BC (Lake Erie rises ~40’ to present level)

~570’ asl


16 Ka – present

profile view

Stream development

Tri-C East

Cuyahoga R.

Lake Erie

Gully Euclid Nine Mile Shaw Dugway Blue Rock Doan Kingsbury

Chagrin R.

Shaker Hts

University Hts

East Cleveland

Bratenahl

Lyndhurst

Beechwood

W’by Hills

Wickliffe

S. Euclid

Euclid

Collinwood/Nottingham

Glenville

Shaker Hts

Rich Hts

Bratenahl Bratenahl

Cleveland Heights

Univer.Circle

~570’ asl

Cleveland Heights

W’by Hills Flats

1850-2013 AD (Anthropogenic change)Heavily transformed

16 Ka – present

profile view

Stream development

Natural cave (Euclid Creek, Berea Sandstone)

Anthropogenic cave (Euclid Creek Tunnel)

Roy Larick

Walk back in time Look to the Future

Bluestone Heights

© 2015 Bluestone Heights

bluestoneheights.org

[email protected] bluestone outcropDoan Brook, Cleveland OHR. Larick

Portage Escarpment Deep History

Environment

Transcript of Portage Escarpment Deep History