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There are comparatively few fossils that document the presence of the Pleistocene western camel (Camelops hesternus) in the unglaciated regions of Alaska and Yukon, northwestern North America (eastern Beringia). It has been previously reported on the basis of stratigraphic and radiocarbon data that this species was present within this region from the Sangamonian interglaciation (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5) through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, MIS 2). However, the continued presence of western camel through the LGM is at odds with its ecological preferences as inferred from more southerly parts of the continent. Here we report 43 new radiocarbon dates on 34 western camel fossils from Alaska and Yukon, including...
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The late Pleistocene Dawson tephra was deposited by one of the largest Quaternary eruptions in northwestern North America. Its distribution is known sparsely from sites near the source area in southwestern Alaska and central Yukon Territory, where more than 20 occurrences are documented in the Klondike region. Dawson tephra erupted about 25 , 300 14 C yr BP , near the onset of the last glaciation, and provides a stratigraphic marker across Eastern Beringia. We report radiocarbon ages, paleobotanical data, and cryostratigraphic observations from a new Dawson tephra locale at Goldbottom Creek, in the Klondike region of Yukon Territory, which collectively indicate that the eruption occurred in the late winter or early...
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Paleoecological research at Goldbottom Creek in the Klondike region of Yukon Territory (NW Canada) documents an in situ riparian grassy meadow that was buried during the winter or early spring by Dawson tephra, near the onset of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2, ca. 25,300 14C years BP. Analyses of vascular plant macrofossils, bryophytes, pollen, insects and paleosols from the riparian meadow contrast with evidence for well-drained, upland steppe–tundra habitats obtained from fossil arctic ground squirrel middens within the same valley. The mesic valley bottom vegetation consisted of grasses (Deschampsia caespitosa, Alopecurus), sedges (Carex), horsetail (Equisetum cf. palustre), diverse bryophytes and few forbs. Upland...
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Paleoecological research at Goldbottom Creek in the Klondike region of Yukon Territory (NW Canada) documents an in situ riparian grassy meadow that was buried during the winter or early spring by Dawson tephra, near the onset of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2, ca. 25,300 14C years BP. Analyses of vascular plant macrofossils, bryophytes, pollen, insects and paleosols from the riparian meadow contrast with evidence for well-drained, upland steppe–tundra habitats obtained from fossil arctic ground squirrel middens within the same valley. The mesic valley bottom vegetation consisted of grasses (Deschampsia caespitosa, Alopecurus), sedges (Carex), horsetail (Equisetum cf. palustre), diverse bryophytes and few forbs. Upland...
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