Lake Albany
Prehistoric proglacial lake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glacial Lake Albany was a prehistoric North American proglacial lake that formed during the end of the Wisconsinan glaciation.[2][3] It existed between 15,000 and 12,600 years ago and was created when meltwater from a retreating glacier, along with water from rivers such as the Iromohawk, became ice dammed in the Hudson Valley.[2][4][5][6]
| Lake Albany | |
|---|---|
Proglacial and prehistoric lakes of New England during the end of the Wisconsin Glacial Epoch of the Pleistocene Era | |
  Lake Albany  Lake Albany | |
| Location | between Poughkeepsie, New York at its southern-most tip to near Glens Falls, New York at its northern-most end |
| Coordinates | 42.7183°N 73.8644°W |
| Type | Proglacial lake |
| Primary inflows | Lake Vermont |
| Primary outflows | Hudson River |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Max. length | 160 miles (260 km) |
| References | Coordinates approximated using details in International Oaks[1] |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Lake Albany | |
Organic materials in Lake Albany deposits have been carbon dated to approximately 11,700 years ago.[7]The lake spanned approximately 160 miles (260 km) from present-day Poughkeepsie to Glens Falls.[2][4][8]
Lake Albany drained about 10,500 years ago through the Hudson River due to post-glacial rebound.[2][8][9] When the lake drained it exposed the sandy and gravelly glaciolacustrine deposits left by the glacier, along a broad plain just west of Schenectady, where the Mohawk emptied into the lake.[10] Dune and deltaic sands, containing lenses of silty sand, silt and clay,[11] compose the topsoil which now underlies the Albany Pine Bush.[12] Beneath the surficial deposits are lake-bottom silt and clay, which overlie till and shale bedrock.[11] A small rill caused by the lake's drainage created Patroon Creek, Sand Creek, Lisha Kill, Shaker Creek, Delphus Kill and the Salt Kill in the town of Colonie, New York.[13]
