The Catastrophic Flood of Glacial Lake Wisconsin

Abstract

The formation of Glacial Lake Wisconsin begins during the Wisconsin Glaciation approximately 30,000 years ago. As the Laurentide Ice Sheet moved south from Canada into Wisconsin it encountered a high, hard outcropping of rock known as the Niagara Escarpment. It rises 50-200 meters and runs from Lake Winnebago all the way to Niagara Falls. This hard escarpment split the Laurentide Ice Sheet into two lobes called the Lake Michigan lobe and the Green Bay lobe. It is the Green Bay lobe that is responsible for shaping much of Eastern Wisconsin and also for forming Glacial Lake Wisconsin.