A Reconnaissance of the Northwestern Portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska Page: 34
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34 RECONNAISSANCE OF NORTHWESTERN PORTION OF SEWARD PENINSULA.
PHYSIOGRAPHY.
INTRODUCTION.
A general statement with regard to shore line, drainage, and relief of the region
under discussion has been given in the chapter on geography. A general discussion
of the physiography of the Seward Peninsula, by Alfred H. Brooks, is also to be
found in Reconnaissances in the Cape Nome and Norton Bay Regions, Alaska, 1900,
pages 48-64 and pages 163-198. Mr. Brooks a has called attention to the fact that the
Seward Peninsula may be divided, by a line from Cape Espenberg to Rocky Point,
into two regions, of which the eastern has been depressed and the western uplifted.
The region under discussion is a part of this uplifted portion. In the northern
part of the peninsula many new facts bearing on physiographic development were
collected. However, owing to the hasty nature of the work and the small scale
of the map, and in view also of the fact that further exploration in an adjacent
region is contemplated at an early date, the writer will only attempt to describe
in a preliminary way some of the more important topographic features, and to
suggest their possible history.
The northern portion of the Seward Peninsula is characterized by broad
lowland plains surrounding a central upland. These lowlands are built up of silts,
sands, and gravels derived from the upland, and deposited in shallow waters,
probably both marine and lacustrine, which surrounded it. The lowlands to the
southeast occupy inland basins extending parallel with the axes of the Bendeleben
and Kigluaik mountains, which rise abruptly from their southern edge.
The relief of the upland is considerable, but its summits are flattened at
elevations varying from 1,600 to 2,900 feet in different parts of the region. Between
the summit level and the lowland plain there is a series of broad benches sur-
rounding the central mass, two of which are particularly prominent. The
different plateau benches and plains represent distinct epochs of erosion, and in
the case of the lower gravels have been quite generally deposited since its for-
mation. The existence of these features is regarded as indicating repeated uplifts,
which affected the whole region.
In the case of the latest uplift there is unmistakable evidence that the
movement was of a differential nature. Similar differential movements have
probably occurred in connection with older uplifts, but definite evidence of them is
wanting. Although the general movement has been one of uplift there is also
evidence of local depressions of minor importance during the latest period. The
four epochs of erosion indicated will be discussed further under the headings
Nuluk Plateau, Kugruk Plateau, York Plateau, and Lowland plains.a Op. cit., p. 56.
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Collier, Arthur J. A Reconnaissance of the Northwestern Portion of Seward Peninsula, Alaska, report, 1902; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc948662/m1/52/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.