Distribution of Sites and Radiocarbon Dates in the Sierra Nevada: Implications for Paleoecological Prospecting
Issue Date
1997-01-01Keywords
fluvial environmentSierra Nevada
paleoecology
lake sediments
lacustrine environment
cores
calibration
California
vegetation
archaeology
miospores
palynomorphs
pollen
Plantae
Pleistocene
upper Pleistocene
United States
peat
sediments
Cenozoic
charcoal
Quaternary
wood
C 14
carbon
isotopes
radioactive isotopes
absolute age
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Anderson, R. S., Smith, S. J., & Koehler, P. A. (1997). Distribution of sites and radiocarbon dates in the Sierra Nevada: mplications for paleoecological prospecting. Radiocarbon, 39(2), 121-137.Journal
RadiocarbonAdditional Links
http://radiocarbon.webhost.uits.arizona.edu/Abstract
The number of paleoecological records for the Sierra Nevada of California has increased substantially since the compilation of Adam (1985). We examine here the geographical and temporal distribution of records within the range in order to identify areas for which "gaps" exist in our paleoecological knowledge. Seventy-two sites with paleoecological information are identified; these sites are dated with 234 radiocarbon dates. Sites occur primarily between ca. 36 degrees N and 38 degrees 30'N latitudes, and from ca. 1000 m to over 3000 m elevation on both sides of the Sierran crest, although more sites have been analyzed on the west side of the crest than the east side. In general, packrat (Neotoma) midden series are located at the lowest elevations, meadow and marsh cores originate from mid-elevations, and lake sediments have been analyzed from the highest elevations. Significant gaps in our knowledge occur for much of the east side of the crest, for both sides of the range above modern treeline, and for time periods older than the latest Pleistocene.Type
Articletext
Language
enISSN
0033-8222ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1017/S0033822200051973