A Late Wisconsin Buried Peat Pollen Profile from the Valley Heads Region at South Dansville, New York

Abstract

A peat deposit buried under 100 cm. of clay was discovered 4.25 miles southeast of Dansville, N.Y. The site is located at 1875 feet above sea level just one mile southeast of the Valley Heads Moraine border. Profile interpretation and carbon date of 15300 B.P. for the bottom of the peat indicate a pre-Valley Heads ice advance in the region with a putative 1000 year interstade between it and the Valley Heads Substage. Spruce pollen maxima are correlated to the pre-Valley Heads and the Valley Heads ice advances while a pine peak represents the Valders Substage. Migration of plant communities from the unglaciated Appalachian Refugium sixty miles to the southwest and late glacial history of the area are discussed to interpret development of present vegetation.