National Ecological Framework (15 of 23)
Surficial Geology
These data are presented as a set of components within each polygon. The following attributes are included:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| UNIT | Surficial Geology |
The extent and nature of the surficial materials in this
database are derived from the Surficial Materials Map of Canada
(Fulton, 1996). The map identifies twenty-four types of
materials.
| UNIT | Description |
|---|---|
| I | Glaciers: Ice and minor morainal debris. |
| A | Alluvial Deposits: stratified silt, sand, clay, and gravel; floodplain, delta, and fan deposits; in places overlies and includes glaciofluvial deposits. |
| Marine Deposits: sediments deposited in marine waters under nonglacial conditions and remaining at or below present lake level. | |
| mM | Marine Mud: Fluid silty clay and clayey silt: deposited as quiet water sediments. |
| sM | Marine Sand: Sand and locally gravel; deposited as sheet sands, lags, and beaches. |
| Lacustrine Deposits: sediments deposited in lakes under nonglacial conditions and remaining at or below present lake level. | |
| mL | Lacustrine Mud:Fluid silty clay and clayey silt: deposited as quiet water sediments. |
| sL | Lacustrine Sand: Sand and locally gravel; deposited as sheet sands, lags, and beaches. |
| E | Eolian Deposits: sand and minor silt: dunes, blowouts, and undulating plains: In most places overlies deltaic sediments, coarse lacustrine sediments, or glaciofluvial deposits. |
| O | Organic deposits: peat, muck and minor inorganic sediments; large bog, fen, and swamp areas where organic fill masks underlying surficial materials; generally >2 m thick. |
| Colluvial Deposits: colluvial and residual materials deposited as veneers and blankets of debris through downslope movement and in place disintegration of bedrock; includes areas of rock outcrop. | |
| bC | Colluvial Blocks: Blocks, and rubble with sand and silt; derived from crystalline bedrock, medium grade metamorphic substrate, and cemented sandstone. |
| rC | Colluvial Rubble: Rubble and silt; derived from carbonate and consolidated fine classic sedimentary rock substrate. |
| fC | Colluvial Fines: Silt, clay, and fine sand: derived from substrate weakly consolidated shale and siltstone substrate. |
| sC | Colluvial Sand: Sand and gravel; derived from poorly lithified sandstone and conglomerate substrate. |
| Glaciolacustrine and Lacustrine deposits: sediments deposited in a glacial lake during deglaciation and subsequent lake drainage. | |
| fM | Fine Grained: Fine grained silt and clay, locally containing stones: deposited as quiet water sediments. |
| cL | Coarse Grained: sand, silt, and gravel: deposited as deltas, sheet sands and lag deposits. |
| Glaciomarine and Marine Deposits: sediments deposited from meltwater and floating ice, in marine waters, during deglaciation and subsequent regression. | |
| fM | Fine Grained: Dominantly silt and clay, locally containing stones; deposited as a quiet water sediment. |
| cM | Coarse Grained: Sand and gravel: deposited as sheet sands, deltas, and extensive flights of beaches. |
| Mv | Lag: Sand, gravel, and pockets of fine sediment; thin to discontinued sediment veneer and residual lag developed during marine submergence; includes areas of washed till and rock. |
| Glaciofluvial Deposits: gravel and sand, deposited by meltwater streams. | |
| Gp | Plain: Sand and Gravel: deposited as outwash sheets, valley trains, and terrace deposits. |
| Gx | Complex: Sand and gravel and locally diamicton: undifferentiated ice contact stratified drift, and outwash; locally includes till and rock. |
| Glacial Deposits: silty, sandy, and clayey diamicton; formed by the direct action of glacier ice. | |
| Tb | Till Blanket: Thick and continuous till. |
| Tv | Till Veneer: Thin and discontinuous till: may include areas of rock outcrop. |
| V | Quarternary Volcanics: consolidated lava, breccia and tephra: dominantly basaltic and andesitic in composition; includes flows, volcanic piles and cinder cones. |
| Rock: areas of abundant ( > 75%) rock outcrop. | |
| Ra | Alpine Complexes: rock, colluvium, and till: rock and Quarternary deposits complex in an area, characterized by alpine and glacial landforms. |
| R | Undivided: rock with minor Quaternary deposits. |
This database does not capture the linear features identified on the "Surficial Materials of Canada". The original source map identifies the former Wisconsin and maximum glaciation ice-limits; general ice flow direction based on drumlins, fluting, etc.; areas of hummocky topography; end and interlobate moraines; and eskers. All are important characterizing features that contribute to the delineation of the ecological units in the national framework.
A table on the back of the "Surficial Materialsof Canada" map lists the sources of surficial materials maps in Canada through 1993.
Source:
Fulton, R. J. (Compiler), 1996. Surficial Materials of Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada. Ottawa. Map 1880A, Scale 1:5 000 000