Glacial Lake Schoharie: An Investigative Study of Glaciolacustrine Lithofacies in Caves, Helderberg Plateau, Central New York

• Published in: Journal of caves and karst studies Vol. 76; no. 2; pp. 127 - 138
• Main Authors: Weremeichik, Jeremy, Mylroie, John
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Huntsville National Speleological Society, Inc 01.08.2014
• Subjects: USA, Wisconsin; USA, New York
• ISSN: 1090-6924; 2331-3714
• DOI: 10.4311/2013ES0117

The glacially deranged karst topography of the Helderberg Plateau, central New York, contains glaciolacustrine lithofacies deposited at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation. Eight pre-glacial caves (Barrack Zourie Cave, McFail's Cave, Howe Caverns, Secret Caverns, Bensons Cave, Gage Caverns, Schoharie Caverns, and Caboose Cave), containing a unique sediment section, are located within the footprint of Glacial Lake Schoharie, Schoharie County. The lithofacies consist of three individual facies, stratigraphically uniform, with the middle facies in sharp contact with the facies directly above and below. This assemblage displays a similar stratigraphic sequence from bottom to top: tan/white to light-grey, very thinly bedded, silts and clays, rich in calcite, overlain by poorly sorted, matrix-supported gravels, in turn overlain by darkbrown very thinly bedded silts and clays. The results presented here, explain why the unusual tan/white and light-grey glaciolacustrine facies are not found in other caves in the glaciated central New York region, as those areas were not subject to inundation by glacial lake water.