INFERENCES ON GLACIAL FLOW FROM TILL CLAST DISPERSAL, WATERFORD AREA,NEW-BRUNSWICK

Dispersal patterns for till clasts from the Waterford area, New Brunsw ick, are compared to source outcrops and used to confirm dominant ice- flow directions in a region reported to show multiple and conflicting striae directions. The results demonstrate that the last glaciation pr oduced elongated south and eastward trending dispersal patterns, indic ative of the dominant ice-flow directions. Clasts have been derived lo cally. Train lengths generally vary from 4 km to about 10 km for mater ial in basal till, but can achieve distances up to 26 km because of tr ansport in englacial positions. Felsic and intermediate metavolcanic a nd intrusive clasts occur in till at locations north of outcropping pl utons on the Central Plateau. The till overlies part of the Carbonifer ous Basin and has been derived in part, from underlying conglomerate b edrock. Since these conglomerate units contain fragments from the surr ounding areas including the Central Plateau, they provided a secondary source for some lithologies during glaciation. Glacial erosion of und erlying conglomerate units may account for occurrences of distinctive till clasts found at other areas of the New Brunswick lowlands, previo usly thought to imply northward glacial transport.