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INTRODUCTION
The record of Quaternary glaciation in Isla Chilot? by R. F. Flint and C. J. Heusser
southern Chile is among the most extensive in 1976. During a second planned field sea-
and detailed in the Southern Hemisphere son, which I carried out in 1978 with Heus-
and it therefore is significant for global ser following the death of Professor Flint,
paleoclimatic reconstructions and inter- field mapping and stratigraphic studies
hemispheric comparisons of glacial chro- were extended north from Isla Child to the
nologies. The Lake District of Chile, area west and southwest of Lago Llan-
stretching from approximately 39 to 42”s quihue in the southern Lake District. The
latitude, has been the focus of several re- aim of these investigations was to synthe-
cent investigations. Glacial deposits are size the Quaternary stratigraphic record
widespread and well exposed there, and the and glacial history of a region that was re-
climate is conducive to preservation of or- peatedly invaded by large Piedmont ice
ganic matter suitable for radiocarbon dat- lobes (Llanquihue, Seno Reloncavi, Golfo
ing. Peat and other organic-rich sediments de Ancud, and northern Golfo Corcovado)
are interstratified with the glacial sediments from an extensive mountain ice field man-
and offer a means of obtaining paleo- tling the Cordillera de 10s Andes (Fig. 1).
environmental information about nonglacial During their fieldwork on Isla Chilot,
intervals. Heusser and Flint (1977) recognized three
The present investigation, an outgrowth offlapping layers of drift (Fuerte San
of earlier studies of the Quaternary Antonio, Intermediate, and Llanquihue)
palynology of southern Chile (Heusser, representing the last (Llanquihue) glacia-
1960, 1966, 1972a, b, 1974, 1976) and of the tion and two (or possibly more) older glaci-
glacial history of the adjacent Argentine ations. Radiocarbon dating suggested that
Andes (Flint and Fidalgo, 1964, 19691, the Llanquihue drift was deposited from at
began with a reconnaissance of the glacial least 43,000 to about 10,000 yr ago and that
geology and Quaternary paleoecology of the two older drifts are more than 57,000 yr
263
0033-5894/81/060263-30$02.00/O
Copyright 0 1981 by the University of Washington.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
264 STEPHEN C. PORTER
CORCOVADO
173"
FIG. 1. Cordillera of southern Chile and Argentina between 40 and 43”s latitude showing mapped
(solid ticked line) and inferred (dashed ticked line) limit of ice during maximum Llanquihue advance in
Chile and Nahuel Huapi advance in Argentina. Glacial limits for Isla Chiloe from Heusser and Flint
(1977); for Seno Reloncavi and Lago Llanquihue from present study; for Lago Rupanco, Lago
Puyehue, and Lago Ranco from Mercer (1976); and for Argentine Andes from Flint and Fidalgo (1964,
1969). Active volcanoes are indicated by star (Casertano, 1963).
old. The vegetation history during part of In the region around Lago Llanquihue,
each of these glaciations was inferred from Laugenie and Mercer (1973; Mercer, 1972,
pollen analysis of sediments associated 1976) mapped four end-moraine systems
with the three drifts. which they designated, from oldest to
PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION IN CHILE 265
youngest, Rio Frio, Colegual, Casma, and whereas clasts in drifts of Casma and Col-
Llanquihue. Only the Llanquihue moraines legual age had rinds about 2 cm thick; those
could be shown to date from the last glacial of Rio Frio age reached a thickness of about
age on the basis of available radiocarbon 4 cm. By contrast, Brtiggen (1950), who
dates. The older moraines, inferred to rep- studied these same moraine belts, found no
resent two or three earlier glacial ages, lay obvious difference in weathering among
beyond the range of radiocarbon dating. them, an observation Mercer (1976) attrib-
The Llanquihue deposits were interpreted uted to his possibly having examined only
as representing two ice advances, one more exposures of compact; impervious till.
than 40,000 yr old (more than 56,000 yr at Heusser and Flint (1976) found that the
Lago Ranco) and a later, more-extensive most useful criteria of relative age for dis-
advance during which the outermost tinguishing the three drift sheets on Isla
moraines at Lago Llanquihue and Lago Chiloe were depth of weathering, degree of
Rupanco were built about 19,500 yr ago. weathering of clasts, surface morphology,
Subsequent glacier recession within the relationship of drift to regional topography,
basin of Lago Llanquihue was inferred to degree of dissection, and bulk of associated
have been marked by a readvance about outwash. In their study, they referred to
13,000 yr ago, following which the ice re- deposits of the last glaciation (Llanquihue
treated into the Andean source region. Glaciation of Heusser (1974, pp. 291-292))
Vegetational changes in the vicinity of Lago as Llanquihue drift. A type section was
Llanquihue during and since the last (pre- designated for the oldest (Fuerte San
Llanquihue) interglaciation were recon- Antonio) drift and its characteristics were
structed by Heusser (1966, 1974), but prior described.
to the present investigation, information on The stratigraphic interpretation of pre-
the vegetation history of earlier intervals Llanquihue glacial deposits in this study
was not available. differs from that of Laugenie and Mercer
(1973; Mercer, 1976)), as discussed below,
STRATIGRAPHY AND CHRONOLOGY and warrants a new lithostratigraphic
Criteria of Relative Age nomenclature to supplant previous informal
designations that employed the same geo-
In earlier studies of glacial deposits in the graphic locality names for landforms
Lake District, subdivision of the glacial (moraine belts) as for the sediments which
record was based mainly on morphologic comprise them. In the present study, glacial
criteria (moraines or moraine belts) sup- deposits have been separated into mappa-
plemented by weathering criteria. For ble units termed drifts, described at type
example, Laugenie and Mercer (1973; sections, and assigned local geographic
Mercer, 1976) inferred that each recognized names. These are not lithostratigraphic
moraine belt west of Lago Llanquihue was units in the strict sense, for each drift sheet
characterized by a distinct surface drift is composed of a similar lithic mix of vol-
which they named informally after that belt. canic, plutonic, and sedimentary clasts; in
In their studies, a feature west of the main the case of the two oldest drifts, weathering
Llanquihue moraine system was identified is so intense that the lithology of many
as an end moraine “if at least part of it is clasts is not determinable. The glacial de-
composed of till.” The moraine belts were posits can be differentiated, however, on
also characterized on the basis of depth of the basis of age-dependent weathering and
overlying volcanic ash, degree of dissection erosional characteristics (including depth of
of landforms, and the comparative degree weathering, thickness of rinds on volcanic
of weathering. Mercer (1976) reported that clasts, intensity of limonitization, extent of
weathering of volcanic clasts in drift of MnO, deposition on clasts and in matrix,
Llanquihue age was barely perceptible and moraine morphology; Table l), into
266 STEPHEN C. PORTER
drift sheets that are believed to represent makes recognition of these facies difficult.
first-order glacial events, or glaciations In such cases, the weathered till and out-
(Porter, 1971; Burke and Birkeland, 1979). wash facies are both appropriately de-
Second-order events (= stades) within the scribed as diamictons. Intensely weathered
youngest glaciation are recognized on the outwash gravel, in which the sandy matrix
basis of landform assemblages and local has been altered to clay, may superficially
stratigraphic relationships, even though the resemble weathered tills of the same drift
degree of weathering of the deposits is sim- sheet. However, pebble- and cobble-size
ilar. clasts in outwash gravel typically are in
Weathering rinds proved to be among the contact with one another, and the inter-
most useful of the weathering parameters. stices between adjacent clasts are filled by
Rind measurements were restricted to vol- weathered matrix. By contrast, the clasts in
canic clasts and generally gave consistent tills infrequently are in contact and com-
and reproducible results when samples monly appear to “float” in a finer weath-
were collected near the top of a drift sheet. ered matrix. Outwash gravels, although
In the case of the three youngest drifts, generally poorly sorted, rarely contain
some variability in mean values is found if clasts larger than cobbles, whereas tills in-
samples are collected at random within a clude boulders with diameters exceeding 1
drift, for as a general rule the thickness of m. Even in thoroughly weathered outwash
rinds in any drift tends to decrease with in- units, relict cross-stratification and graded
creasing depth in the weathering profile. bedding can be discerned locally. Such
For example, in one exposure of Rio Llico features are common in outwash of the
till, clasts collected within 1.5 m of the top youngest drift sheet but were not observed
of the drift had a mean rind thickness of 9.4 in unweathered basal (lodgment) tills of that
mm, whereas a second sample from the drift. In most large outcrops such charac-
same outcrop taken at a depth of 3 to 4 m teristics serve to distinguish the two facies,
had a mean thickness of only 3.8 mm. In but in the case of small exposures, weath-
certain cases where a till overlies and in- ered diamictons often cannot be assigned
corporates clasts of an older weathered with confidence to one facies or the other.
outwash gravel, occasional rounded clasts Lahars from Volcan Calbuco overlie drift
with anomalously thick rinds may be en- of the last glaciation along the west and
countered in the till. Such rinds typically south margins of Lago Llanquihue and
match those in the underlying gravel, from across the region between the lake and
which the clasts are inferred to have been Seno Relocavi. Although they superficially
derived. Despite such possible internal resemble till, the lahars are different in sev-
variability, the range of sample means ob- eral respects: (1) clasts within lahars are
tained for each of the four drift sheets form overwhelmingly volcanic and include few
distinct populations that normally permit of the plutonic rock types that are common
unequivocal assignment of an exposed unit in the tills; (2) clasts are predominantly
to a specific drift (Table 1). The weathering- angular or subangular, whereas the tills
rind data provide a regionally consistent contain a high percentage of rounded to
stratigraphic picture that is supported by subrounded clasts; (3) in exposures a meter
other relative-age criteria (Table 1). or more high, a crude vertical grading is
The drift sheets include two principal often detectable; and (4) the upper surfaces
facies, till and outwash. For the youngest of lahars commonly are flat or nearly flat in
drifts, the facies distinction is straight- contrast to the hummocky character of the
forward, but for the two oldest drifts the younger tills. Although no pre-Llanquihue
intensity of weathering often obscures dis- lahars were identified, some may extend lo-
tinctive sedimentary characteristics and cally beyond the Llanquihue drift limit.
TABLE 1. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DRIFTS
Characteristic Llanquihue Drift Santa Maria Drift Rio Llico Drift Caracol Drift
-- Petrc
LLANQUIHUE \ ‘L
V\ 172930,
EXPLANATION
Drift Llmlt of drift Till Outw
Llanqulhue bndiv.) - - -
Llonqulhue Ill - - -
Llonqulhue II - T 7
Llanquihue I v - 7
Santo Marla T-TIT n 0
Rio LIICO -V----V- A A
Caracol l c
@ Borehok (depth to
bedrock,de,,th of
/ Melfwaler channel
Sv Submerged valley
this unit from younger glacial sediments. sures of till of this unit, rather than on any
Till of the Caracol Drift is stony and appar- pronounced lithologic or morphologic
ently had a sandy matrix, but in most expo- boundary. It was determined from five
sures both the matrix and clasts have been traverses along roads that cross the lowland
chemically altered to clay. The brown color and rise up the eastern slope of the Cordil-
of the weathered till contrasts with the yel- lera de la Costa. Although the limit is inter-
lowish or grayish hues of younger deposits. polated between these traverses, it proba-
Although clasts include both granitic and bly is accurate to within several kilometers,
volcanic rock types, many are too weath- inasmuch as the bedrock topography would
ered for their lithology to be identified with have locally controlled the shape of the
certainty. Weathering rinds at the type sec- glacier margin and produced the inferred
tion range in thickness from 13 to 21 mm, minor lobations shown on the map. The po-
and average 17 mm; this range is also typi- sition of the drift limit indicates that within
cal at other outcrops of the drift. Weathered the mapped area an extensive Piedmont
rinds commonly spall off from a less-altered glacier filled the lowland between the
core when large clasts are removed from coastal mountains and the Andes during the
exposures. In some outcrops the till has culminating Rio Llico advance and proba-
well-developed subhorizontal fissility along bly reached the Pacific Ocean at or some-
which, and in the sockets of clasts, locally what north of Bahia Maullin.
dense MnO, is concentrated, thereby im- The type section of the drift is in a bor-
parting a dark cast to the sediment. In out- row pit on route V-440 near its junction
wash deposits of this age, MnO, mottling is with route V-46 (Fig. 2, Lot. 2; Appendix
widespread and iron oxide staining is Ib). In this section two stony tills, each at
common. least 3 m thick, are separated by a thin
The distribution of Caracol Drift indi- laminated silt. Although the tills are essen-
cates that ice spread westward from the tially indistinguishable in physical appear-
Andes as an extensive Piedmont glacier and ance and weathering properties, it is not
locally rose against the eastern slope of the clear whether they represent a single
coastal mountains. Based on the presently glaciation or two separated by a nonglacial
known distribution of the till, the glacier weathering interval. Other exposures of
was less extensive than that which sub- multiple tills having similar weathering
sequently deposited Rio Llico Drift. characteristics were not encountered dur-
ing this study, so the former interpretation
Rio Llico Drift is currently favored. However, additional
The next younger drift, which is also the field studies are needed to resolve this
most widespread of those identified, is question.
named for Rio Llico. The drift crops out at In most exposures the till is thoroughly
the surface through a l&km-wide belt along weathered to clay, as are small stones less
and east of the flank of the Cordillera de la than about 1 cm in diameter, and can easily
Costa near the head of Rio Llico and was be cut through with a knife or shovel. In
identified beneath younger drifts in out- many road cuts the drift forms a smooth
crops farther east to within l-2 km of the face with few or no projecting stones. Large
shore of Lago Llanquihue . The land surface clasts typically have solid cores surrounded
underlain by the drift is extensively and by weathered rinds that average about 10
deeply dissected, and the drainage net is mm thick and spa11 off when stones are re-
well integrated. Moraines, if they exist, are moved from the matrix. Limonite and (or)
not obvious features, for none were identi- MnO, commonly coats clasts and clast sock-
fied during the study. ets, and lenses and pods of MnO, that are
The mapped western limit of Rio Llico pervasive in the matrix generally impart a
Drift is based on the westernmost expo- purplish-gray cast to the drift. Lenses or
270 STEPHEN C. PORTER
layers of tine silt that are locally interstrati- overlain in turn by about 3 m of loess and
lied with till commonly are penetrated by colluvium (Fig. 2, Lot. 3; Appendix Ic).
closely spaced veins of MnOe. The compact stony Santa Maria till ap-
Like the still-younger Santa Maria Drift, pears much less weathered than either the
the Rio Llico lies beyond the range of Caracol or Rio Llico tills, but is charac-
radiocarbon dating. Nonbedded silts lying terized by a yellowish-brown color due
within and directly above Rio Llico till were largely to limonite that coats clasts and
sampled at two localities for paleomagnetic clast sockets and penetrates the matrix, es-
analyses, and in both cases the samples had pecially along fissile partings. Rinds on vol-
normal polarity. However, like the bound- canic clasts in the upper part of the weath-
ing tills, the silts are strongly weathered, so ering profile average about 2 mm thick
the paleomagnetic signal may be unreliable. (Table 1). Most clasts are solid and little
weathered, except for the external rinds,
Santa Matia Drift and in contrast to those in the older tills
A widespread drift lies at the land surface project from vertical exposures. Although
across much of the lowland between Lago the clasts in porous outwash gravels often
Llanquihue, Seno Relocavi, and the belt of are little weathered, the sandy matrix typi-
Rio Llico Drift east and south of the Cor- cally is loosely cemented by limonite, in
dillera de la Costa. It is named for Rio Santa places to a depth of at least 10 m. MnO, is
Maria, a minor tributary of Rio Maullin present in some outcrops as partial coatings
west of Puerto Varas. Till of this drift on clasts and clast sockets, or as dissem-
underlies gently rolling terrain throughout inated blebs in the upper part of the weath-
the outcrop belt, and dissected outwash ering profile, but it is not as obvious or per-
gravels form terraces along major stream vasive as in the two older drifts.
valleys. Linear and arcuate interfluves Three of the end-moraine systems de-
within this belt of drift could represent scribed by Laugenie and Mercer (1973) lie
broad end-moraine crests, as inferred by within the belt of Santa Maria Drift and if
Laugenie and Mercer (1973), but strati- correctly identified suggest that the drift
graphic exposures through these generally may have resulted from more than a single
broad subdued crests are few and shallow, ice advance. Because no difference in the
so it is not always clear if, in fact, the ridges age of the uppermost glacial sediments
are end moraines modified by mass wasting within this belt was discernable using
and erosion or result from dissection of a relative-age criteria, the surface drift was
relatively low-relief drift plain. The western mapped as a single unit. However, distin-
limit of the drift approximately parallels guishing between drifts of successive
that of the Rio Llico Drift, but lies some 7 to glaciations becomes more difficult with in-
14 km farther east in the area mapped (Fig. creasing age because the weathering rate
2). This distribution indicates that during very likely decreases exponentially as a
deposition of the outermost Santa Marfa function of time (Colman, 1981). Therefore,
till, the glacier was a broad coalescent possibly the Santa Marta Drift records sev-
Piedmont system consisting of ice from the eral glaciations.
Llanquihue, Seno Relocavi, and Golfo de Minimum limiting dates for Santa Maria
Ancud source areas. Drift come from an exposure along the
The type section of Santa Marta Drift is south side of route V-55 just west of the Pan
designated as a road cut on the north side of American Highway where wood and adja-
route V-50 directly beneath San Ambrosio cent peat overlying Santa Mafia till were
cemetery, some 24 km west of Puerto dated as >39,900 yr old (I-4170 and I-5032;
Varas. In this section, 2 m of Santa Maria Mercer, 1976) (Fig. 3 and Table 2). Finite
till overlies weathered sediments probably ages of 32,000 5 700 yr (TK-70) on wood
belonging to the Rio Llico Drift and is from the same horizon and of 23,300 + 300
PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION IN CHILE 271
LAG0
LLANQUIHUE
0.700fl300
Calbuco
SENO
I
RELONCAVi
FIG. 3. Radiocarbon dates associated with glacial drifts around Lago Llanquihue and Seno
Reloncavi. Designation of ice limits same as for Figure 2.
TABLE2. RADIOCARBON DATESFROMTHELAGOLLANQUIHUE-SENORELONCAV~REGION
Laboratory Locality
number Date Sample material and stratigraphic position (Fig. 3) Reference
I-10.53 890 + 250 Peat in bog on Llanquihue II outwash (?) Alerce III Heusser, 1966, p. 293
I-1047 3,610 rf- 250 Peat in bog on Llanquihue I drkt Alerce I Heusser, 1966, p. 293
I-1048 4,950 + 400 Peat in bog on Llanquihue I drift Alerce I Heusser, 1966, p. 293
I-1060 6,760 + 300 Peat in bog on Llanquihue III drift Calbuco Heusser, 1966, p. 293
I-1049 7,360 k 300 Peat in bog on Llanquihue I drift Alerce I Heusser, 1966, p. 291
LJW-427 7,660 2 90 Peat clast in gravel beneath Llanquihue I (?) till Puerto Varas -
I-1061 7,880 + 750 Peat in bog on Llanquihue III drift CaIbuco Heusser, 1966, p. 291
I-1054 8,600 + 300 Peat in bog on Llanquihue II outwash (?) AIerce III Heusser, 1966, p. 291
I-1055 9,410 + 400 Peat in bog on Llanquihue II outwash (?) Alerce III Heusser, 1966, p. 291
I-1050 10,520 * 300 Peat in bog on Llanquihue I drift Alerce I Heusser, 1966, p. 291
I-1056 10,820 + 800 Peat in bog on Llanquihue II outwash (?) AIerce III Heusser, 1966, p. 291
I-1063 10,820 2 900 Peat in bog on Llanquihue III drift CaIbuco Heusser, 1966, p. 288
I-1064 11,300 k 250 Peat in bog on Llanquihue II drift Los PeUines Heusser, 1966, p. 291
I-1067 11,800 2 400 Peat in bog on Llanquihue II drift Los PeIlines Heusser, 1966, p. 279, 288
I-1062 12,165 + 900 Peat in bog on Llanquihue III drift Calbuco Heusser, 1966, p. 288
I-1065 12,165 + 400 Peat in bog on Llanquihue II drift Los Pellines Heusser, 1966, p. 279, 288
I-1051 12,500 2 800 Peat in bog on Llanquihue I drift Alerce I Heusser, 1966, p. 288
RL-1183 12,500 2 370 Peat in outlet channel cut in Llanquihue II outwash Puerto Octay -
UW-480 13,145 % 235 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas -
and lahars
RL-122 13,170 + 290 Wood in peat above Llanquihue II drift Los Pellines C. J. Heusser, pers. commun., 1979
GX-4169 13,200 2 320 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas Mercer, 1976, p. 155
and lahars
GX-2947 13,300 k 550 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas Mercer, 1976, p. 155
and lahars
GX-4170 13,750 2 295 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas Mercer, 1976, p. 155
and lahars
TK-74 13,900 2 120 Wood from beneath till of Llanquihue III (?) age Puerto Montt Kobayashi et al., 1974, p. 383
UW-48 1 13,965 * 235 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas -
and lahars
UW-421 14,200 + 135 Peat beneath lake sediments and Llanquihue III till Punta Penas -
GX-2948 14,250 + 400 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas Heusser, 1974, p. 308
and lahars
uw-479 14,485 2 120 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas -
and lahars
I-5033 14,820 2 230 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas Mercer, 1972, p. 1118; 1976, p. 154
and lahars
QL-1335 15,050 2 100 Wood in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas -
and lahars
UW-422 15,220 2 160 Plant fragments at base of clay beneath lake sediments Punta Penas -
and Llanquihue III tiIl
W-948 15,400 2 400 Wood beneath lake sediments and Llanquihue III till Punta Penas Ives et al., 1964, p. 69
GX-5275 15,715 Ik 440 Peat in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas J. H. Mercer, pers. commun., 1978
and lahars
RL-1185 15,800 * 550 Peat in outlet channel cut in Llanquihue II outwash Puerto Octay -
I-1052 16,085 2 800 Basal peat in bog on Llanquihue I (?) drift Alerce I Heusser, 1966, p. 280, 288.
RL-113 16,270 2 360 Wood in Llanquihue III terrace beneath lake sediments Puerto Varas Mercer, 1972, p. 118; 1976, p. 154
and lahars
RL-1184 16,580 2 730 Peat in outlet channel cut in Llanquihue II outwash Puerto Octay -
RL-120 17,370 f 670 Near-basal peat in outlet channel cut in Llanquihue II Puerto Octay Mercer, 1972, p. 1118
outwash
GX-5274 18,170 f 650 Basal peat in outlet channel cut in Llanquihue II Puerto Octay J. H. Mercer, pers. commun., 1978
outwash
uw-418 18,900 -e 370 Basal peat in outlet channel cut in Llanquihue II Puerto Octay -
outwash
RL-116 20,100 t so0 Peat clast in Llanquihue 11 outwash beneath Frutillar Alto Mercer, 1972, p. 1118
Llanquihue II till
TK-71 23,300 k 300 Wood from silt underlying Llanquihue I till above Puerto Varas Mercer, 1976, p. 148; Kobayashi
nonglacial sediments and Santa Mana till et al., 1974, p. 382
TK-72 26,000 2 400 Wood in Llanquihue I (?) drift Puerto Montt Kobayashi et al., 1974, p. 383
QL-1338 29,600 k 350 Gyttja beneath Llanquihue I or II (?) gravel Puerto Octay -
I-6618 30,400 k 1150 Peat clast in stratified drift beneath Llanquihue till Los Pellines Heusser, 1974. p. 311
uw-419 30,700 k 1300 Peat clast in gravel beneath Llanquihue I (‘7) till Frutillar Alto -
uw-430 31,700” 1000 Peat clast in gravel beneath Llanquihue I (?) till Frutillar Alto -
TK-70 32,000 ” 700 Wood from base of Llanquihue I till above nonglacial Puerto Varas Mercer. 1976, p. 148
sediments and Santa Matia till
U W-425 32,800 t 1600 Peat clast in Llanquihue II outwash beneath Frutillar Alto
Llanquihue II till
QL-1339 37,400 i so0 Gyttja beneath Llanquihue I or II (?) gravel Puerto Octay -
QL-1337 42,400 ” 500 Wood (in situ stump) in nonglacial sediments beneath Punta Penas -
Llanquihue I or II (?) drift
- 47,600 %t Wood (in situ stump) in nonglacial sediments beneath Punta Pelluco C. Klohn, pers. commun. to
Llanquihue drift C. J. Heusser, 1977
QL-1336 Wood in nonglacial sediments between Santa Matia Puerto Varas
and Llanquihue tills
274 STEPHEN C. PORTER
measured between Llanquihue till and Peat found as clasts in gravelley outwash
Santa Maria till in an exposure along route and till of Llanquihue age and having 14C
V-SO near the Pan American Highway (Fig. ages in the range of 32,800 + 1600 to 30,400
2, Lot. 4; Appendix Id). ? 1150 yr apparently formed during a
As yet too little is known about the re- nonglacial (interstadial?) interval prior to
gional distribution and continuity of the the Llanquihue ice advances that deposited
intertill sediments to infer much about their the enclosing drift.
origin or the environmental conditions
which they reflect. Although intervals of Llanquihue Drift
loess accumulation may generally have Sediments of the last glaciation were
been related to glacial episodes and repre- named Llanquihue Drift by Mercer (1976,
sent deflation of aggrading outwash sur- p. 146) following Heusser’s (1974) designa-
faces, loess also apparently accumulated tion of the last major expansion of the
during the last interglaciation. Analysis of Andean glacier complex in the Lake Dis-
fossil pollen from eolian silts that lie above trict as the Llanquihue Glaciation. The drift
Santa Matia till at Nueva Braunau, about 8 is named for Lago Llanquihue which is
km west of Puerto Varas, indicates that the bordered by arcuate moraine systems that
silts record a warm, dry interglacial climate delineate the lobate margin of the youngest
and a landscape that was largely unforested ice cap (Fig. 2). Much of the moraine belt
(Heusser, 1981). Buried soils associated has been affected by land clearance, graz-
with the intertill sediments may record all ing, and farming, but the depositional mor-
or part of interstades or interglaciations phology is little modified. Outwash forms
when depositional activity was restricted broad, gently sloping plains west of the
and relative landscape stability promoted Llanquihue moraine system, and underlies
soil formation. In some instances, the upper terraces along principal .streams.
parts of interstadial or interglacial weath- Subdivision of Llanquihue Drift on the
ering profiles may have been largely re- basis of lithologic or weathering differences
moved during subsequent ice advances. was not possible, but morphostratigraphic
No radiometric dates are available for and sedimentologic criteria permit it to be
sediments between the Caracol and Rio separated within the mapped area into three
Llico Drifts or between the Rio Llico and units of stadial rank informally designated
Santa Mar-la Drifts; however, because dates Llanquihue I, II, and III. These are inferred
for organic matter in sediments between the to relate to at least three, or possibly four,
Llanquihue and Santa Marta Drifts are gen- episodes of glacier advance and (or) read-
erally beyond the range of the radiocarbon Vance, the ages of which are bracketed by
method, so too would be those of any sam- radiocarbon dates.
ples from the older interdrift units. The
Llanquihue I Drift
radiocarbon dates from inter-till sediments
on route V-50, which have already been Llanquihue I moraines lie within about 5
discussed, indicate that the basal sediments km of the shore of Lago Llanquihue and
at that site are more than 57,800 ?z$g yr old. generally form the outermost moraine arc,
Wood from intertill sediments beneath although locally the drift limit apparently is
Llanquihue Drift at Punta Penas has been marked by moraines of the subsequent
dated as 42,400 t 500 yr old (QL- 1337), Llanquihue II advance. Similar moraines
whereas a wood sample from Punta Pel- built at the limit of the Seno Reloncavi
luco, which occupies a similar stratigraphic glacier during the last glaciation lie about 10
position, is >40,000 yr old (UW-423). At km northwest of the marine embayment
the former site, which is awash at high tide, and are believed to correlate with the Llan-
contamination of wood by marine or- quihue I moraines of the Lago Llanquihue
ganisms is probable. lobe; locally they are characterized by
276 STEPHEN C. PORTER
kettle-and-kame topography with small dates provide lower limiting ages for the
lakes and bogs. Exposures in Llanquihue I Llanquihue I advance. The wood beneath
moraines indicate that they typically con- Llanquihue I till west of Puerto Varas hav-
sist of stony, compact till, the clasts of ing an age of 57,800 Zi$$ yr may indicate
which are mostly well rounded; in places that the till is less than this age; but because
the till directly overlies proglacial outwash the date should be regarded as a minimum
gravel from which the rounded clasts are due to possible contamination, it is not de-
presumed to have been derived. The finitive. Two further dates of 29,600 +- 350
moraines are breached in places by melt- yr (QL-1338) and 37,400 ? 500 yr B.P.
water channels floored with outwash that (QL-1339) from west of Puerto Octay for
grades back to the Llanquihue II and III gyttja lying beneath Llanquihue gravel
moraines (Fig. 2). The highest Llanquihue which in turn is overlain by Llanquihue II
outwash terraces west of the outer moraine till may offer additional limiting ages for the
belt are related to this advance. Llanquihue I advance. However, it is not
Although stratigraphic sections and re- clear whether the gravel is of Llanquihue I
lationships of the Llanquihue Drift were or II age; if the former, then the younger
discussed by previous workers, no type date is a lower limiting age for the advance.
section was described. Such a section is Llanquihue I drift is older than basal or-
here designated in a road cut along route ganic sediments in two meltwater channels
V-50 near its junction with the Pan Ameri- northwest of Puerto Octay that cross the
can Highway (Fig. 2, Lot. 5). In this sec- Llanquihue I moraine, but although the
tion, stony Llanquihue till overlies nongla- oldest date of 18,900 + 370 yr (UW-418) is
cial sediments and tills of the Santa Maria thought to provide a close minimum age for
and Rio Llico Drifts (Appendix Ie). In this Llanquihue II drift, it does not closely limit
and other exposures obvious weathering of the age of the older drift.
Llanquihue till extends to a depth of a A possible limiting date for the Llan-
meter or less and consists mainly of quihue I advance in Seno Reloncavi comes
yellowish-brown limonite staining and dis- from wood in nonglacial sediments at Punta
continuous MnO, staining on clasts and Penas (42,400 & 500; QL-1337) that under-
clast sockets. Some mica-rich granites are lies sediments predating the Llanquihue III
weathered through, but volcanic clasts advance and outwash of probable Llan-
have rinds averaging ~0.5 mm thick (Table quihue II or I age. Wood found in ice-
1). Outwash gravels show a similar degree contact stratified drift of possible Llan-
of alteration, with weathering generally quihue I age at Punta Pelluco is >40,000 yr
being confined to the top meter. (UW-423) and >45,600 yr old. A rooted
Llanquihue I drift is not yet closely stump from beneath the Llanquihue Drift at
dated. Lower limiting dates are available this locality was dated 47,600 ?Eg yr. In
from several sites west of Lago Llanquihue, both places, however, the stratigraphic as-
but all are ambiguous. Wood in basal till at signment of the deposits is open to ques-
the type section is >4O,OOfl yr old (UW-420; tion.
Appendix Ie). Even if the till is of Llan- A minimum age for the outermost drift of
quihue I age, which is not certain, the date the Seno Reloncavi lobe comes from basal
tells nothing about the age of the enclosing sediments of the Alerce I bog which are
till. Peat clasts in possible Llanquihue I till 16,085 +_ 800 yr old (I-1052). However, the
east of Frutillar Alto have finite ages of age of the drift under the bog is not known
30,700 + 1300 and 31,700 & 1000 yr (UW- with certainty, and could be either Llan-
419 and UW-430). The till underlies silty till quihue I or Llanquihue II.
of Llanquihue II age that forms the land Collectively these dates indicate that the
surface and was tentatively regarded in the Llanquihue I drift was deposited more than
field as Llanquihue I in age; if true, then the about 19,000 yr ago (the minimum age of
PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION IN CHILE 277
the younger Llanquihue II drift), but the Llanquihue II moraines can be traced dis-
lower age limit is uncertain, On the basis of continuously southwest of Puerto Montt
several dates, the advance could have oc- (Fig. 2). However, unlike the silt-rich
curred after about 30,000 yr ago, but the moraines of the Llanquihue lobe, this drift
older suite of dates in the range of 40,000 to is mainly stony till, the clasts of which
58,000 yr, all of which could be regarded as come from reworked proglacial outwash
only minimum dates, leaves open the pos- gravel.
sibility that the drift is much older. The Close bracketing ages are available for
weathering characteristics, which are es- the Llanquihue II drift in the Lago Llan-
sentially indistinguishable from those of the quihue basin. A peat clast in stratified drift
Llanquihue II drift, seem to favor a young of probable Llanquihue II age (J. H.
age, but the occurrence under the till of Mercer, pers. commun., 1980) near Los
well-preserved logs that are >39,000 and at Pellines is 30,400 + 1150 yr old (I-6618) and
least 57,800 yr old suggests an older age. provides a lower limiting age. Other lower
The question will remain unresolved until limiting dates come from peat clasts in a
additional stratigraphic studies and radio- borrow pit at Frutillar Alto where proglacial
metric dating are undertaken. outwash underlies stony till forming the
distal slope of the Llanquihue II moraine.
Llanquihue II Drijii One clast is 32,800 -t 1600 yr old (UW-425),
Llanquihue II moraines are best devel- but another has an age of only 20,100 +- 500
oped between the towns of Puerto Octay yr (RL-116; Mercer, 1976), indicating that
and Llanquihue where they are fronted by the advance culminated after about 20,000
flat outwash surfaces that pass westward yr ago. The northernmost and higher of the
through breaches in the Llanquihue I two meltwater channels near Puerto Octay
moraines to form intermediate terraces that drained proglacial Lago Llanquihue
along Rio Maullin and its eastern tributaries during early recession of the ice from the
(Fig. 2). Where the ice overrode proglacial Llanquihue II moraine is floored by peat,
outwash, the till is stony and resembles the base of which has an age of 18,170 +
Llanquihue I till, but in many exposures 650 yr (GX-5274); a sample obtained earlier
near and behind the crest of the moraine from just above the base of this same de-
system the till consists largely of lake sedi- posit was dated 17,370 + 670 yr (RL-120;
ments that have been strongly sheared and Mercer, 1972, 1976). A nearby, but some-
folded. A typical sequence is exposed in a what lower spillway is also floored by peat
reference section east of Frutillar Alto (Fig. having a basal age of 18,900 2 370 (UW-
2, Lot. 6; Appendix If). Similar deformed 418). Outwash in which these spillway
lake sediments are found within the Llan- channels are cut is graded to the Llan-
quihue II moraine system west of Puerto quihue II ice limit, and the samples there-
Varas and between Frutillar and Puerto fore provide minimum ages for that ad-
Octay. Locally abundant dropstones in the vance. Together, the dates suggest that the
laminated sediments suggest that following outermost Llanquihue II drift was depos-
the Llanquihue I advance the glacier re- ited between about 20,000 and 19,000 ‘“C
treated into, but did not evacuate, the lake yr ago.
basin, and that a thick lacustrine section No close limiting ages for the Llanquihue
was deposited west of the calving ice mar- II drift are available from the Seno
gin. During the Llanquihue II advance, the Reloncavi area. A date of 10,820 + 900 yr
unconsolidated lake sediments were pushed (I-1063) was obtained from clayey sedi-
up, deformed, and deposited as part of the ments about 1 m above the base of the
Llanquihue II moraines. Alerce III bog by Heusser (1966). Although
A moraine system of the Seno Reloncavi the site lies in an area underlain by Llan-
glacier that is inferred to correlate with quihue II outwash, it also is an area that has
278 STEPHEN C. PORTER
been affected by late-glacial and postglacial 14,200 -t 135 yr ago, but the actual time of
lahars from Volcan Calbuco and it is un- deposition of the till is not known. A
certain whether the bog rests directly on minimum date for deglaciation following
outwash gravel or on a laharic breccia of the Llanquihue III advance of the Golfo de
younger age. Ancud lobe comes from Heusser’s (1966)
Calbuco site, where basal bog sediments
date to 12,165 + 900 yr ago (I-1062).
Only two Llanquihue moraine systems A record of events at the time of the
are recognized around the west side of Llanquihue III advance is also found along
Lago Llanquihue, but a third system has the margin of Lago Llanquihue. Mercer
been mapped inside the Llanquihue II (1976) described a succession of lake sedi-
moraines of the Seno Reloncavi lobe (Fig. ments and associated peat in the vicinity of
2). This system is characterized by exten- Puerto Varas which he interpreted as indi-
sive dead-ice terrain with numerous lakes cating an interval of ice withdrawal from
and bogs, especially in the zone where the the end moraines west of the town during
Seno Reloncavi and Golfo de Ancud lobes the “Varas interstade.” Subsequent sub-
merged. Along the north shore of the Golfo mergence of peats was inferred to mark a
de Ancud and on Isla Puluqui, elongate readvance of the glacier, possibly to a posi-
drumlinoid hills oriented northwest define tion within the lake, culminating about
former ice-flow directions across the mar- 13,000 yr ago. Restudy of the Puerto Varas
gin of the marine embayment. localities, together with additional 14C dat-
Stratigraphic evidence related to the ing, substantiates this series of events, but
Llanquihue III advance is found in the also allows the possibility of a somewhat
coastal exposure at Punta Penas where a more complex history of ice-marginal fluc-
thick section of laminated lake sediments is tuations .
exposed (Figs. 2 and 3). Radiocarbon dates A prominent terrace lying at about 74 m
of a thin bed of peat at the base of the altitude in the Puerto Varas embayment
lake sediments and plant fragments in a rises along the south side of the lake to
clay directly above indicate that organic about 100 m at Laguna La Poza, and de-
sedimentation took place from at least scends northward to about 70 m altitude at
15,400 r+_400 yr ago (W-948; see also UW- the outlet of the lake near Llanquihue
422: 15,220 +- 160 yr) to 14,200 + 135 yr ago (Figs. 2 and 4). Beyond the outlet, it can be
(UW-421), after which time rising lake wa- followed discontinuously past Puerto
ters, presumably due to advancing ice in the Octay, rising in that direction. North of
basin, terminated peat deposition and led to Llanquihue the terrace is underlain mainly
lacustrine sedimentation. Stony till of pre- by ice-contact stratified drift and has the
sumed Llanquihue III age unconformably appearance of a kame terrace. The southern
overlies the lake sediments, which are segment, however, is different in character,
strongly sheared and deformed near the for fluvial ice-contact sediments and lake
contact, at the south end of the Punta Penas clays are capped by at least three laharic
exposure. An additional sample of wood breccias that coarsen eastward from Puerto
collected west of Puerto Montt (13,900 + Varas toward Laguna La Poza, and evi-
120 yr; TK-74) may come from approxi- dently originated at Volcan Calbuco. The
mately the same stratigraphic horizon, morphology and stratigraphy indicate that
while a rooted stump beneath drift of prob- when the terrace formed, the lake basin was
ably Llanquihue III age at Quemchi on the filled with ice as far as the present shoreline
east coast of Isla Chilot is 14,200 yr old (C. and that meltwater flowed along the ice
Laugenie, pers. commun. to J. H. Mercer, front to the Rio Maullin outlet. Further-
1978). These relationships suggest that the more, the laharic eruptions must have oc-
ice advance had begun by shortly after curred while the ice front still lay against
PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION IN CHILE 279
t\ BELLA VISTA
NORM
SOUTHSHORE WEST SHORE StmRE
so
30 20 10 0 ,a za 30 40 x1 60
01STtlNCE FROM Rio MAULLiN OVTLET IhI
FIG. 4. Gradients of kame- and lahar-fill terraces
along the margins of Lago Llanquihue relative to the
Rio Maullin outlet.
aLohar
ePeot,gyttja
the margin of the basin, for otherwise the aRhythmiteql 0
J
the limit of the last recognized advance of location and stratigraphy of key sections, related
the glacier in the Lago Llanquihue basin. radiocarbon dates, and altitudes of tops of peat beds
Knowledge of the timing of the glacier (in meters).
fluctuations is based on interpretation of
the sedimentary sequence in the Puerto
Varas embayment. At five sections the outlet along Rio Petrohue and forced the
laharic breccias overlie massive to finely lake to drain via the Rio Maullin outlet.
laminated lake sediments and interbedded The age of the uppermost peat at each
peat (Fig. 5; Appendix lg). The lake sedi- locality should indicate the approximate
ments, which reach at least as high as 15 m time of submergence. If the ages plus one
above the present lake level, locally contain standard deviation are plotted as a function
dropstones and are inferred to represent of altitude, the result is a sinuous curve that
times when the calving glacier front termi- can be interpreted as indicating two
nated well east of Puerto Varas although episodes of advance separated by a brief
still within the lake basin. The peat layers period of falling lake level, presumably re-
represent times of lowered lake level that flecting ice retreat (Fig. 6). The initial
permitted terrestrial organic sediments to episode of advance began before 15,700 yr
accumuiate at altitudes at least as low as 60 ago when the lake level was <60 m and
m in the Puerto Varas embayment. Mercer culminated about 15,000-14,500 yr ago at
(1976) inferred that the peat layers seen at which time the lake level exceeded 61 m in
different outcrops lay at approximately the altitude. There followed an interval of ice
same altitude, but careful resurveying indi- recession when the water level fell below 61
cates that they lie at various altitudes and m, thereby permitting peat to form at the
apparently formed in depressions or chan- Bella Vista Bluff site (~60.8 m). Rising
nels on the top of a lacustrine terrace prior water terminated peat growth there shortly
to deposition of the lahars. At each locality, after 13,965 -+-235 yr ago and subsequently
the peats are overlain by lake sediments, at two higher sites during the next 800 yr.
indicating that a rise of water level termi- Culmination of this phase occurred some-
nated peat formation. This rise is best ex- time after about 13,145 yr ago, by which
plained by an advance of the glacier front time the lake level had risen to at least 67 m
that prevented drainage via the eastern altitude (the approximate altitude of the Rio
280 STEPHEN C. PORTER
lake that were eroded below present lake (Figs. 7 and 8). Although the belts mapped
level and subsequently submerged as the by Laugenie and Mercer (1973; Mercer,
lake surface rose (Fig. 2). Rise of the water 1976) may, in fact, be of morainal origin,
level was related to construction of Calbuco they are discontinuous features and might
and Osomo volcanoes which in postglacial be interpreted in several other ways:
time have deposited thick coalescing tills of 1. They are moraines of one or both of
lava, Wars, and alluvium in the vicinity of the oldest glacial advances that were over-
Ensenada, thereby raising the level of the ridden during the Santa Mafia advance and
lake to that of the Rio Maullin spillway. mantled with till of that age. Similar com-
pound end moraines of this type have been
INTERPRETATIONS AND reported from the drift belt near the south-
CORRELATIONS ern margin of the former Laurentide Ice
Stratigraphic Interpretations Sheet (Totten, 1969).
Mercer (1976) suggested that linear topo- 2. The belts of higher ground are in-
graphic crests in the lowland west of Lago tertluves separating subparallel consequent
Llanquihue represent end moraines of suc- tributaries of Rio Maullin and merely repre-
cessive ice advances, each underlain by a sent the dissected remnants of an extensive
different glacial drift (Fig. 7). Stratigraphic drift plain of Santa Maria age.
relationships documented during the pres- 3. The position and relief of the topo-
ent study suggest an alternative interpreta- graphic highs are unrelated or only partly
tion, namely, that a single drift, distin- related to glacier activity; instead they are
guished from older drifts by its physical at- surface expressions of the underlying bed-
tributes, lies at the surface within the area rock. Bedrock is infrequently exposed in
of Mercer’s Rio Frio, Colegual, and Casma the wide lowland between Lago Llanquihue
moraine belts. Furthermore, exposures at and the foothills of the Cordillera de la
or near the crests indicate that the surface Costa, but the gross topography both within
drift generally is no more than a few meters the coastal mountains and in the lowland
thick and forms only a superficial veneer, suggests that the Tertiary rocks are broadly
rather than the bulk of the landform. One or folded into a series of southeast- to east-
more older drifts lie beneath the surface till plunging folds (Fig. 9). The northern part of
Mercer’s Colegual moraine belt coincides
approximately with the northeast limb of an
af -Artlf,ctal f,ll
FIG. 7. Inferred stratigraphy of region between the eo-Loess and tephro TO st- Santa Marl.2 t,,,
Puerto So-S anta Marta outwasl
Cordillera de la Costa and Lago Llanquihue according Lt - Llonquihue till MO”,,
Is- Interdraft sed,ments Rt-Rto Llaco till
to interpretations of (a) Laugenie and Mercer (1973)
and Mercer (1976); and (b) this study. Cd = Caracol FIG. 8. Stratigraphic sections near intersection of
Drift; Rd = Rio Llico Drift; Sd = Santa Marta Drift; Routes V-5 and V-55 west of Puerto Varas showing
Lid, LIId, and LIIId = Llanquihue I, II, and II drifts, multiple-drift sequences in Llanquihue moraine belt
respectively; ow = outwash (undifferentiated). and locations of radiocarbon samples.
282 STEPHEN C. PORTER
FIG. 9. Generalized topographic map of lowland between Cordillera de la Costa and Lago Llan-
quihue showing location of inferred anticlinal and synclinal fold axes and of moraine belts mapped by
Laugenie and Mercer (1973; Mercer, 1976). Contours in meters (shaded above 250 m).
inferred plunging anticline and therefore south. On the other hand, segments of the
may be primarily a bedrock-controlled Casma belt do appear morainal in charac-
landform (Fig. 9). Confirmation of the in- ter, especially toward the northern limit of
ferred structure will require far more sub- the study area and in the region between the
surface geologic data than are currently Llanquihue limit of the Lago Llanquihue
available. and Seno Reloncavi ice lobes; however,
The broad topographic crests mapped by exposures in both areas are few and poor.
Laugenie and Mercer could not be traced Unequivocal end moraines were seen only
across the Rio Maullin lowland west of inside the outer limit of Llanquihue Drift.
Seno Reloncavi. If they are moraines, there Positive linear relief features beyond that
is no obvious reason why they should dis- limit may be end moraines, as inferred by
appear in that direction. However, if they Laugenie and Mercer, but in most cases
are interfluve crests or bedrock-controlled their internal character is unknown or
ridges, they should disappear in that region poorly known and their possible origin is
of low relief. Mercer’s Rio Frio moraine ambiguous and clearly warrants further
belt also could not be traced either north or detailed study.
PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION IN CHILE 283
(1980) for the sector between 41”20’ and ations of the Lago Llanquihue lobe during
41”30’. the last glaciation. The advances occurred
A reliable reconstruction of the Llan- during an interval when glacier systems
quihue snowline cannot yet be made, for elsewhere in the world were also ex-
the extent and dtitudinal distribution of the periencing second-order variations. The
glacier system within the Andes are imper- radiocarbon dates make it possible to con-
fectly known. Nevertheless, an estimate of struct a discontinuous time series for the
its approximate position can be obtained. lobe between about 25,000 and 10,000 yr
The drainage basin that contributed ice to ago (Fig. 11) which shows culminations of
the Llanquihue lobe can be delineated, as advances being reached between about
can the extent of the Piedmont lobe in the 20,000 and 19,000 yr ago and shortly after
lowland. If the accumulation-area ratio of 13,008 yr ago. A possible additional read-
the glacier is assumed to have been ap- Vance or stillstand about 15,000 to 14,500 yr
proximately 0.65 (ratio of accumulation ago is suggested by 14C-dated lake-level
area to total area of glacier = 2:3), then the data.
steady-state equilibrium line should have The glacial-geologic time series resem-
been situated close to the mountain front bles a record of oxygen-isotope variations
and within the lower basin of Lago Todos in the Dome C ice core from East Ant-
10s Santos. As the reconstructed ice- arctica (Fig. 11; Lorius et al., 1979). The
surface profile in this reach lies at approxi- Dome C core was taken from a site having
mately 900 m altitude, this value may ap- relatively simple glacier-flow conditions
proximate the equilibrium-line altitude for and therefore may be more reliably dated
the glacier in this sector. An alternate ap- than the better-known core from Byrd Sta-
proach is to assume that the median altitude
of the glacier would have approximated the
LLANPUIHUE
steady-state equilibrium-line altitude. The DOME c ICE CORE
LOBE
glacier terminated at about 150 m altitude,
and the highest part of its accumulation
area must have been at altitudes where I F---J I I
glaciers exist today (ca. 2000 m). The me-
dian altitude of the glacier system would
therefore have been about 925 m on the
Chilean slope. Although these independent
estimates are similar, they should be con-
sidered only as approximations and subject
to refinement. If the Llanquihue snowline
rose eastward with the same gradient as the
modern snowline, an as-yet unproved as-
sumption, then it would have involved a
lowering of some 1000 m below that of the
present (Fig. 10). This figure falls within the
FIG. 11. Discontinuous time series showing termi-
range of calculated values for snowline de- nal fluctuations of Lago Llanquihue glacier lobe based
pression in other middle-latitude mountain on controlling radiocarbon dates (solid circles) com-
ranges (e.g., Porter, 1975) and is therefore pared with curve of oxygen-isotope variations in Dome
regarded as a reasonable preliminary esti- C ice core from East Antarctic Ice Sheet (Lorius et al.,
mate. 1979, Fig. 2). Ice-core time scale estimated from sim-
ple ice-flow model assuming variable rate of accumu-
Terminal Fluctuations lation; ages based on assumption of constant rate of
accumulation are shown in brackets. Dashed lines
Available radiocarbon dates provide par- show possible correlations of the two paleoclimatic
tial control on the timing of marginal fluctu-
286 STEPHEN C. PORTER
tion in West Antarctica for which several be made. With a change from dominantly
different time scales have been proposed positive to dominantly negative mass bal-
based on different ice-flow models and in- ance at the end of the final ice advance, the
volving different basic assumptions (e.g., glacier terminus is presumed to have pulled
Robin, 1977). In the Dome C record, low back from the western shore of the lake and
isotopic values representing the last glacial begun to calve. Calving may have been
maximum pass upcore to higher values slow at fust due to shallow water depths,
representing the change to postglacial cli- but as the receding front reached deeper
matic conditions, the transition beginning water, the calving rate may have increased.
about 15,000 yr ago according to the esti- Although Lago Llanquihue and Lago Todos
mated time scale. A prominent second- 10s Santos are now separated by a threshold
order peak, regarded by Lorius et al. as one of lavas and volcanic detritus from Osomo
of several “significant isotopic events,” and Calbuco volcanoes, the fill is partly
dates to about 13,000-12,000 yr ago (Fig. postglacial, so the ‘two basins may not have
11) and also appears in a core from Vostock been as widely separated during deglacia-
Station (East Antarctica) (Robin, 1977, Fig. tion. Once the glacier became ungrounded
15). This isotopic event may correlate with from the western shore of Lago Todos 10s
the Llanquihue III advance in Chile which Santos, further terminal recession would
culminated at about this time. The Llan- have carried the front far back into the
quihue II advance, which culminated about interior of the range. Calving may have
19,000-20,000 yr ago, may in turn correlate been enhanced by isostatic depression,
with the most negative part of the Dome C which along the flow line could have
isotope curve which has an estimated age of amounted to 150 m or more. If deglaciation
about 18,200-20,000 yr. An intermediate of the main trough took place before sub-
peak, with an estimated age of 14,400- stantial isostatic recovery occurred, then a
15,000 yr, falls at the time of the postulated terminal retreat of some 80 to 90 km in
readvance or stillstand of the ice lobe in water depths that substantially exceeded
the Lago Llanquihue basin. Although other those of the present lake basins might have
peaks in the isotope curve may equate with encompassed only a brief time interval. A
glacier advances in southern Chile, possible comparable recession is likely to have oc-
correlations are not as obvious because the curred along the Seno Reloncavi flow line,
ice-core chronology becomes less reliable where a long fjord-like arm of the sea ex-
with increasing depth and the Llanquihue I tends inland to the region southeast of Vol-
advance is not yet closely dated. can Calbuco (Fig. 1). Such rapid ice retreat
would have been analogous to that doc-
Ice Recession umented at Glacier Bay, Alaska, since the
The timing and character of ice recession end of the 18th century (Field, 1976) and
in the Lago Llanquihue basin and the would have led to extensive breakup of the
mountain source region following the Llan- Andean glacier system at this latitude, pos-
quihue III advance have not yet been sibly well before the end of the Pleistocene
studied in detail, but certain inferences can Epoch.
PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION IN CHILE 287
Caracol Dri’
4 Till, stony with Iissile, sandy matrix; dusky-red (1OR 312) to
yellowish-orange (IOYR 6/6); locally dense concentra-
tions of MnO, f&ing voids and clast sockets; pebbles and
small cobbles rotted to center; mean rind thickness on
larger clasts = 17 mm; clasts reach diameter of 25 cm and
include volcanic and granitic lithologies, but many un-
identifiable due to intensity of weathering 340 t
Base of borrow pit
* Borrow pit at 225 m altitude on Route V-610 just west of Caracol and 2.8 km south of junction of Routes
V-610 and V-510 on Cordillera de Zarao 1:50,000 scale topographic map.
APPENDIX Ig-Continued
Thickness
Unit Description (cm)
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