Lake Agassiz

Lake Agassiz was a vast proglacial lake that occupied parts of central North America as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated near the end of the last ice age.

Laurentide Ice Sheet: The enormous ice sheet that covered much of Canada and the northern United States during the last glaciation. Its retreat exposed the basin, while its ice blocked northward drainage.
Red River of the North: A north-flowing river running from the Dakotas and Minnesota through Manitoba to Lake Winnipeg. Its exceptionally flat valley occupies part of Lake Agassiz’s former bed.
William H. Keating: An American geologist and explorer who documented geological features of the upper Mississippi region in the early nineteenth century. His expedition accounts helped bring the region’s former lake deposits to scientific attention.
Younger Dryas: A return to near-glacial conditions in the North Atlantic region about 12,900 to 11,700 years ago. A freshwater-drainage link to this cooling episode has been proposed but remains contested.
Glacial lake: A lake formed when meltwater collects against or within a glacier or ice sheet. Agassiz was a proglacial lake held against the Laurentide Ice Sheet.
Lake Winnipeg: A large lake in Manitoba, Canada, draining north through the Nelson River system. It is a remnant of the immense basin once occupied by Lake Agassiz.
George B. Wright: An American geologist who studied the glacial geology of the Lake Agassiz region. His field investigations helped establish the scale and shorelines of the ancient lake.
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation: A system of Atlantic Ocean currents that transports heat and salt between the tropics and high latitudes. A proposed Agassiz freshwater pulse could have weakened this circulation and reduced northern heat transport.
Glacial Lake Ojibway: A large proglacial lake that occupied parts of Ontario and Quebec near the end of the last ice age. It joined Lake Agassiz before their combined waters drained eastward.
Nelson River: A river in Manitoba that carries water from Lake Winnipeg to Hudson Bay. It continues the northward drainage route established as ice barriers retreated.

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