Abstract
A recently proposed Cenozoic geology and glacial history paradigm requires a thick North American continental ice sheet to have been located within an ice sheet created and occupied deep “hole” and predicts large south-oriented meltwater floods flowed across the deep “hole’s” southern rim before rim uplift progressively diverted floodwaters toward the Mississippi River valley, which in time became the only deep “hole” southern exit (the accepted paradigm does not recognize such an ice sheet created deep “hole”). Possible locations for the new paradigm deep “hole” rim in Great Plains regions east of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are considered with the one being the Purgatoire-Canadian River drainage divide in the Raton Mesas area along the Colorado-New Mexico border and a second being the Canadian-Pecos River (Arkansas River-Gulf of Mexico) drainage divide in San Miguel County (NM). Detailed topographic maps indicate streams of what could have been south-oriented melt water once crossed the two studied drainage divides with headward erosion of the northeast-oriented Purgatoire River drainage basin diverting south-oriented water toward the east-oriented Arkansas River (and Mississippi River valley) while headward erosion of east-oriented Canadian River tributary valleys beheaded south-oriented flow to the south-southeast oriented Pecos River (flowing to the Rio Grande River–which then flows to the Gulf of Mexico). While the Purgatoire-Canadian River drainage divide has some deep “hole” rim characteristics, those characteristics disappear in an eastward direction and the Canadian River, like the Purgatoire River, is an Arkansas River tributary. East-oriented Canadian River headwaters and tributary valley headward erosion diverted south-oriented flow from the Rio Grande River to the Mississippi River valley (via the Canadian and Arkansas Rivers), which means the new paradigm’s deep “hole” rim southern margin should be located along or near the Arkansas River-Gulf of Mexico drainage divide.
Highlights
IntroductionA recently proposed Cenozoic geologic and glacial history paradigm (new paradigm) describes large and prolonged floods flowing across the North American east-west continental divide (Clausen, 2020)
1.1 Statement of the Research ProblemA recently proposed Cenozoic geologic and glacial history paradigm describes large and prolonged floods flowing across the North American east-west continental divide (Clausen, 2020)
The new paradigm predicts to the west of the Mississippi River valley and to the east of the east-west continental divide multiple streams of south-oriented water should have first flowed across the deep “hole” rim and as deep “hole” rim uplift progressed should have been diverted in east, northeast, and/or north directions so as to flow to major east-oriented Mississippi River tributary valleys
Summary
A recently proposed Cenozoic geologic and glacial history paradigm (new paradigm) describes large and prolonged floods flowing across the North American east-west continental divide (Clausen, 2020). The floods originated from a thick continental ice sheet located where ice sheets are usually recognized to have been and which was heavy enough to raise surrounding regions (including mountain ranges) as meltwater floods flowed across them. Uplift of surrounding regions, when combined with deep ice sheet erosion, created a large North American continent deep “hole” in which the ice sheet was located. The accepted Cenozoic geologic and glacial history paradigm (accepted paradigm) does not recognize such a continental ice sheet created deep “hole” nor does the accepted paradigm see massive and prolonged meltwater floods flowing across rising mountain and plateau regions. Using Thomas Kuhn’s (1970) terminology the new and accepted paradigms are incommensurable and describe quite different Cenozoic geologic and glacial histories
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