The Ice Age and Origins of the Humber Watershed
Toronto, Ontario
A Map of The Oak Ridges Terminal Moraine - Origins
Part II Genesis of the Oak Ridges Moraine
The Oak Ridges Moraine is a pair of large ridges composed of four elevated wedges. It is bounded to the west by the Niagara Escarpment, a cuesta which was critical
to the formation of the moraine, and to the east by the Trent River and Rice Lake. The four wedges (Albion, Uxbridge, Pontypool and Rice Lake from west to east)
formed in stages. The moraine peaks at the Uxbridge wedge, generally rising from east to west, a result of the moraine's west-to-east formation. That is, the western portion of the moraine received earlier and more frequent sedimentary deposition than the eastern portion, as the ice lobes which controlled the moraine's eastern formation slowly retreated. The Rice Lake wedge is separated from the other wedges where the Oak Ridges Moraine intersects Rice Lake.
To the north are drumlinized uplands, referred to as the Peterborough drumlin field.
Proceed to Part III => Geography of Oak Ridges Moraine