A 40,000-yr record of environmental change from Burial Lake in Northwest Alaska

Burial Lake in northwest Alaska records changes in water level and regional vegetation since ∼ 39,000 cal yr BP based on terrestrial macrofossil AMS radiocarbon dates. A sedimentary unconformity is dated between 34,800 and 23,200 cal yr BP. During all or some of this period there was a hiatus in deposition indicating a major drop in lake level and deflation of lacustrine sediments. MIS 3 vegetation was herb-shrub tundra; more xeric graminoid-herb tundra developed after 23,200 cal yr BP. The tundra gradually became more mesic after 17,000 cal yr BP. Expansions of Salix then Betula, at 15,000 and 14,000 cal yr BP, respectively, are coincident with a major rise in lake level marked by increasing fine-grained sediment and higher organic matter content. Several sites in the region display disrupted sedimentation and probable hiatuses during the last glacial maximum (LGM); together regional data indicate an arid interval prior to and during the LGM and continued low moisture levels until ∼ 15,000 cal yr BP. AMS ¹⁴C dates from Burial Lake are approximately synchronous with AMS ¹⁴C dates reported for the Betula expansion at nearby sites and sites across northern Alaska, but 1000-2000 yr younger than bulk-sediment dates.     

Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction in the Eastern Amazonian Basin: Comprido Lake

Two sediment cores were studied from Comprido Lake, a black water floodplain lake located near Monte Alegre City, Eastern Amazonian Basin. The total organic carbon (TOC), nitrogen content (TN), δ¹³C_TOC, sedimentary chlorophyll, diatom record and mineralogical composition revealed different hydrological and climatic regimes during the Holocene. Between 10,300 and 7800 cal yr BP, a dry climate was suggested by low values of TOC and chlorophyll derivatives concentrations that are related to the development of a C₄ grasses on unflooded mud banks. A gap in sedimentation due to a complete dryness of the lake occurred between 7800 and 3000 cal years BP corresponding to the Middle Holocene dry phase. From 3000 cal years BP onwards a gradual increase of the TOC, chlorophyll derivatives and Aulacoseira sp. suggest an increase in the productivity and in water lake level due to the high water flow of the Amazon River and the catchment area as well. The Comprido Lake record indicates that the Late Holocene in this region was characterized by a wetter climate, as also observed in other records of the Amazonian Basin.     

Holocene climate–fire–vegetation interactions at a subalpine watershed in southeastern British Columbia,Canada

Vegetation assemblages and associated disturbance regimes are spatially heterogeneous in mountain ecosystems throughout the world due to the complex terrain and strong environmental gradients. Given this complexity, numerous sites describing postglacial vegetation and fire histories are needed to adequately understand forest development and ecosystem responses to varying climate and disturbance regimes. To gain insight into long-term historical climate–fire–vegetation interactions in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, sedimentological and paleoecological analyses were performed on a sediment core recovered from a small subalpine lake. The pollen assemblages, stomata, and macroremains indicate that from 9500 to 7500 cal yr BP, Pinus-dominated forests occurred within the catchment and Alnus was also present. Climate was an important control of fire and fire frequency was highest at this time, peaking at 8 fires 1000 yr^− 1, yet charcoal accumulation rates were low, indicative of low terrestrial biomass abundance. From 7500 to 4600 cal yr BP, Pinus decreased as Picea, Abies and Larix increased and fire frequencies decreased to 3–6 fires 1000 yr^− 1. Since 7500 cal yr BP the fire regime varied at a millennial scale, driven by forest biomass abundance and fuel accumulation changes. Local scale (bottom-up) controls of fire increased in relative importance since at least 6000 cal yr BP.     

Holocene lake development and glacial-isostatic uplift at Lake Skallen and Lake Oyako,Lützow-Holm Bay,East Antarctica: Based on biogeochemical facies and molecular signatures

The paleolimnology of two lakes which were isolated as a result of the crustal uplift during the late Holocene along the Soya Coast, Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica were studied. The focus was on temporal variations in the biogeochemical composition of sediment cores recovered from Lake Skallen at Skallen and Lake Oyako at Skarvsnes. Both sets of lake sediments record environmental changes associated with a transition from marine to lacustrine settings, as indicated by analyses of C and N contents, nitrogen isotopic compositions (δ¹⁵N), and major element concentrations. Changes in the dominant primary producers during the marine–lacustrine transition (marine diatom to cyanobacteria) at L. Skallen was clearly revealed by biogenic opal-A, diatom assemblages, and molecular signature from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene analysis. Radiocarbon dating of acid-insoluble organic C suggested that the environmental transition from marine to fresh water occurred at 2940 ± 100 cal yr BP at L. Skallen and 1060 ± 90 cal yr BP at L. Oyako. Based on these data, a mean crustal uplift rate of 3.2 mm yr⁻¹ is inferred for the history of marine–lacustrine transition via brackish conditions. The geological setting causing glacio-isostatic uplift was the primary factor in controlling the transition event in sedimentary and biological facies.     

Late Pleistocene-early Holocene paraglacial and fluvial sediment history in the Turbio valley, semiarid Chilean Andes

The transitional character of climatic conditions confers great relevance to paleoclimate studies in the semiarid region where glacial and Holocene geomorphologic records are scarce. Here we present the paraglacial and fluvial evolution of the Turbio valley (30°S) using both field observations and ¹⁴C AMS chronology. Two key sites at the uppermost Turbio valley show glacial margins which likely formed during the 17-12 ka Central Andean Pluvial Event and earlier 37-27 ka episodes associated with glacial advances reported elsewhere in the semiarid Andes. Likewise, two episodes of subsequent paraglacial response are identified: a first episode corresponds to early Holocene fine-grained deposits (~ 11,500-7800 cal yr BP) extending far downstream (> 40 km) from the glacial margins. These deposits and coeval debris cones (~ 11,000-5500 cal yr BP) are the result of arid conditions with occasional runoffs that were unable to export sediments along the trunk valley. The second episode corresponds to disconformably overlying fluvial gravels extending ~ 70 km downstream from the glacial margin, indicative of an increase in the fluvial transport capacity occurring not long after 5500 cal yr BP. Fluvial transport increase resulted from a late Holocene shift to wetter climate conditions, representing a forcing factor which enhanced the paraglacial response.     

Ancient charcoal as a natural archive for paleofire regime and vegetation change in the Mayumbe,Democratic Republic of the Congo

Charcoal was sampled in four soil profiles at the Mayumbe forest boundary (DRC). Five fire events were recorded and 44 charcoal types were identified. One stratified profile yielded charcoal assemblages around 530 cal yr BP and > 43.5 cal ka BP in age. The oldest assemblage precedes the period of recorded anthropogenic burning, illustrating occasional long-term absence of fire but also natural wildfire occurrences within tropical rainforest. No other charcoal assemblages older than 2500 cal yr BP were recorded, perhaps due to bioturbation and colluvial reworking. The recorded paleofires were possibly associated with short-lived climate anomalies. Progressively dry climatic conditions since ca. 4000 cal yr BP onward did not promote paleofire occurrence until increasing seasonality affected vegetation at the end of the third millennium BP, as illustrated by a fire occurring in mature rainforest that persisted until around 2050 cal yr BP. During a drought episode coinciding with the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’, mature rainforest was locally replaced by woodland savanna. Charcoal remains from pioneer forest indicate that fire hampered forest regeneration after climatic drought episodes. The presence of pottery shards and oil-palm endocarps associated with two relatively recent paleofires suggests that the effects of climate variability were amplified by human activities.     

Glacial and Holocene terrestrial temperature variability in subtropical east Australia as inferred from branched GDGT distributions in a sediment core from Lake McKenzie

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) distributions observed in a sediment core from Lake McKenzie were utilized to quantitatively reconstruct the pattern of mean annual air temperature (MAAT) from coastal subtropical eastern Australia between 37 and 18.3 cal ka BP and 14.0 cal ka BP to present. Both the reconstructed trend and amplitude of MAAT changes from the top of the sediment core were nearly identical to a local instrumental MAAT record from Fraser Island, providing confidence that in this sediment core branched GDGTs could be used to produce a quantitative record of past MAAT. The reconstructed trend of MAAT during 37 to 18.3 cal ka BP and timing of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Lake McKenzie record were in agreement with previously published nearby marine climate records. The amplitude of lower-than-present MAAT during the LGM potentially provides information on the latitude of separation of the Tasman Front from the East Australian current in the subtropical western Pacific. The Lake McKenzie record shows an earlier onset of near modern day warm temperatures in the early Holocene compared to marine records and the presence of a warmer than present day period during the mid-Holocene.     

Holocene sea-surface temperature variability in the Chilean fjord region

Here we provide three new Holocene (11–0 cal ka BP) alkenone-derived sea surface temperature (SST) records from the southernmost Chilean fjord region (50–53°S). SST estimates may be biased towards summer temperature in this region, as revealed by a large set of surface sediments. The Holocene records show consistently warmer than present-day SSTs except for the past ~ 0.6 cal ka BP. However, they do not exhibit an early Holocene temperature optimum as registered further north off Chile and in Antarctica. This may have resulted from a combination of factors including decreased inflow of warmer open marine waters due to lower sea-level stands, enhanced advection of colder and fresher inner fjord waters, and stronger westerly winds. During the mid-Holocene, pronounced short-term variations of up to 2.5°C and a cooling centered at ~ 5 cal ka BP, which coincides with the first Neoglacial glacier advance in the Southern Andes, are recorded. The latest Holocene is characterized by two pronounced cold events centered at ~ 0.6 and 0.25 cal ka BP, i.e., during the Little Ice Age. These cold events have lower amplitudes in the offshore records, suggesting an amplification of the SST signal in the inner fjords.     

Holocene paleoenvironmental changes inferred from diatom assemblages in sediments of Kusawa Lake, Yukon Territory, Canada

The southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, is an important region for recovering sensitive records of Holocene paleoclimatic change. More information is needed, however, to constrain the timing of the major Holocene climatic transitions, and to understand associated impacts on different ecosystems. For example, paleolimnological studies have focused on small lakes and ponds, but the history of large lakes has received little study. We analyzed diatom assemblages, species richness, valve concentrations, and biogenic silica, in the sediments of Kusawa Lake (60°16.5'N; 136°10.9'W; 671 m a.s.l.) to reconstruct the responses of this large (surface area = 142 km²), deep (Z_max = 135 m) freshwater ecosystem to Holocene climatic transitions. Diatoms colonized the lake soon after ice retreat, around 11,000 cal yr BP; assemblages throughout the record were dominated by planktonic types. Diatom concentrations and biogenic silica were high during the Holocene Thermal Maximum between 10,700 and 7300 cal yr BP, then began to decrease in response to cooling associated with orbitally driven reductions in insolation. Diatom assemblages shifted towards taxa with lower surface water temperature optima after 8300 cal yr BP, perhaps in response to abrupt and progressive cooling. Our study confirms that diatom assemblages in large lakes are sensitive to regional-scale paleoclimatic changes.     

Postglacial history of alpine vegetation,fire, and climate from Laguna de Río Seco,Sierra Nevada,southern Spain

The Sierra Nevada of southern Spain is a landscape with a rich biological and cultural heritage. The range was extensively glaciated during the late Pleistocene. However, the postglacial paleoecologic history of the highest range in southern Europe is nearly completely unknown. Here we use sediments from a small lake above present treeline – Laguna de Río Seco at 3020 m elevation – in a paleoecological study documenting over 11,500 calendar years of vegetation, fire and climate change, addressing ecological and paleoclimatic issues unique to this area through comparison with regional paleoecological sequences. The early record is dominated by Pinus pollen, with Betula, deciduous Quercus, and grasses, with an understory of shrubs. It is unlikely that pine trees grew around the lake, and fire was relatively unimportant at this site during this period. Aquatic microfossils indicate that the wettest conditions and highest lake levels at Laguna de Río Seco occurred before 7800 cal yr BP. This is in contrast to lower elevation sites, where wettest conditions occurred after ca 7800. Greater differences in early Holocene seasonal insolation may have translated to greater snowpack and subsequently higher lake levels at higher elevations, but not necessarily at lower elevations, where higher evaporation rates prevailed. With declining seasonality after ca 8000 cal yr BP, but continuing summer precipitation, lake levels at the highest elevation site remained high, but lake levels at lower elevation sites increased as evaporation rates declined. Drier conditions commenced regionally after ca 5700 cal yr BP, shown at Laguna de Río Seco by declines in wetland pollen, and increases in high elevation steppe shrubs common today (Juniperus, Artemisia, and others). The disappearance or decline of mesophytes, such as Betula from ca 4000 cal yr BP is part of a regional depletion in Mediterranean Spain and elsewhere in Europe from the mid to late Holocene. On the other hand, Castanea sativa increased in Laguna de Río Seco record after ca 4000 cal yr BP, and especially in post-Roman times, probably due to arboriculture. Though not as important at high than at low elevations, fire occurrence was elevated, particularly after ca 3700 years ago, in response to regional human population expansion. The local and regional impact of humans increased substantially after ca 2700 years ago, with the loss of Pinus forest within the mountain range, increases in evidence of pasturing herbivores around the lake, and Olea cultivation at lower elevations. Though human impact was not as extensive at high elevation as at lower elevation sites in southern Iberia, this record confirms that even remote sites were not free of direct human influence during the Holocene.     

Timing of advance and basal condition of the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum in the Richardson Mountains,NWT

This study presents new ages for the northwest section of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) glacial chronology from material recovered from two retrogressive thaw slumps exposed in the Richardson Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. One study site, located at the maximum glacial limit of the LIS in the Richardson Mountains, had calcite concretions recovered from aufeis buried by glacial till that were dated by U/Th disequilibrium to 18,500 cal yr BP. The second site, located on the Peel Plateau to the east yielded a fossil horse (Equus) mandible that was radiocarbon dated to ca. 19,700 cal yr BP. These ages indicate that the Peel Plateau on the eastern flanks of the Richardson Mountains was glaciated only after 18,500 cal yr BP, which is later than previous models for the global last glacial maximum (LGM). As the LIS retreated the Peel Plateau around 15,000 cal yr BP, following the age of the Tutsieta phase, we conclude that the presence of the northwestern margin of the LIS at its maximum limit was a very short event in the western Canadian Arctic.     

A geological constraint on relative sea level in Marine Isotope Stage 3 in the Larsemann Hills, Lambert Glacier region, East Antarctica (31 366–33 228 cal yr BP)

In this paper we present geological evidence from the Larsemann Hills (Lambert Glacier – Amery Ice Shelf region, East Antarctica) of marine sediments at an altitude of c. 8 m a.s.l., as revealed by diatom, pigment and geochemical proxies in a lake sediment core. The sediments yielded radiocarbon dates between c. 26 650 and 28 750 ¹⁴C yr BP (31 366–33 228 cal yr BP). This information can be used to constrain relative sea level adjacent to the Lambert Glacier at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3. These data are compared with the age and altitude of Marine Isotope Stage 3 marine deposits elsewhere in East Antarctica and discussed with reference to late Quaternary ice sheet history and eustatic sea-level change.     

The mid-Holocene sea-level highstand at Bogenfels Pan on the southwest coast of Namibia

The radiocarbon ages of mollusc shells from the Bogenfels Pan on the hyper arid southern coast of Namibia provide constraints on the Holocene evolution of sea level and, in particular, the mid-Holocene highstand. The Bogenfels Pan was flooded to depths of 3 m above mean sea level (amsl) to form a large subtidal lagoon from 7300 to 6500 calibrated radiocarbon years before present (cal yr BP). The mollusc assemblage of the wave sheltered lagoon includes Nassarius plicatellus, Lutraria lutraria, and the bivalves Solen capensis and Gastrana matadoa, both of which no longer live along the wave-dominated southern Namibian coast. The radiocarbon ages of mollusc shell from a gravely beach deposit exposed in a diamond exploration trench indicate that sea level fell to near or 1 m below its present-day position between 6500 and 4900 cal yr BP. The rapid emergence of the pan between 6500 and 4900 cal yr BP exceeds that predicted by glacio-isostatic models and may indicate a 3-m eustatic lowering of sea level. The beach deposits at Bogenfels indicate that sea level rose to 1 m amsl between 4800 and 4600 cal yr BP and then fell briefly between 4600 and 4200 cal yr BP before returning to 1 m amsl. Since 4200 cal yr BP sea level has remained within one meter of the present-day level and the beach at Bogenfels has prograded seaward from the delayed arrival of sand by longshore drift from the Orange River. A 6200 cal yr BP coastal midden and a 600 cal yr BP midden 1.7 km from the coast indicate sporadic human utilization of the area. The results of this study are consistent with previous studies and help to refine the Holocene sea-level record for southern Africa.     

Distinction between the Storegga tsunami and the holocene marine transgression in coastal basin deposits of western Norway

Many coastal lakes were inundated by both the Storegga tsunami (7000 ¹⁴C yr BP) and the mid-Holocene sea-level rise (the Tapes transgression) in western Norway. The tsunami eroded lake bottoms and deposited graded and/or massive beds of sand, rip-up clasts, and coarse plant material. By contrast, when the rising sea entered the lakes, it deposited only gyttja, silt and fine sand, without causing much erosion of the underlying lake sediments. Storegga tsunami deposits in some coastal lakes were interpreted previously as ordinary marine sediments from the Tapes transgression. Our reinterpretation of these deposits shows that the transgression maximum phase was reached after 6500 yr BP, more than 1000 yr later than previously inferred for the coast of Sunnmøre. The new data cannot be combined in a shoreline diagram without showing the 6000 yr BP and 7000 yr BP shorelines as slightly warped. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The DeKalb mounds of northeastern Illinois as archives of deglacial history and postglacial environments

The “type” DeKalb mounds of northeastern Illinois, USA (42.0°N, −88.7°W), are formed of basal sand and gravel overlain by rhythmically bedded fines, and weathered sand and gravel. Generally from 2 to 7 m thick, the fines include abundant fossils of ostracodes and uncommon leaves and stems of tundra plants. Rare chironomid head capsules, pillclam shells, and aquatic plant macrofossils also have been observed.Radiocarbon ages on the tundra plant fossils from the “type” region range from 20,420 to 18,560 cal yr BP. Comparison of radiocarbon ages of terrestrial plants from type area ice-walled lake plains and adjacent kettle basins indicate that the topographic inversion to ice-free conditions occurred from 18,560 and 16,650 cal yr BP. Outside the “type” area, the oldest reliable age of tundra plant fossils in DeKalb mound sediment is 21,680 cal yr BP; the mound occurs on the northern arm of the Ransom Moraine (−88.5436°W, 41.5028°N). The youngest age, 16,250 cal yr BP, is associated with a mound on the Deerfield Moraine (−87.9102°W, 42.4260°N) located about 9 km east of Lake Michigan. The chronology of individual successions indicates the lakes persisted on the periglacial landscape for about 300 to 1500 yr.     

Holocene sedimentary and environmental development of Aarhus Bay,Denmark – a multi-proxy study

Holocene sedimentation patterns and environmental development in Aarhus Bay, Denmark, were reconstructed based on proxy analyses of two sediment cores (M1 and M5). Together, the two cores offer an opportunity to examine the history of the area during the past c. 10 000 years. The investigation consisted of acoustic mapping and multi-proxy analyses of the sediment cores including macrofossils, sediment physical properties, sediment accumulation rates, grain size, and X-ray fluorescence elemental counts. Radiocarbon dating of the two sediment successions revealed that they cover the periods c. 10 000–3700 cal. a BP (M1) and c. 4400 cal. a BP to the present (M5). The data from the M1 site indicate the presence of a near-shore lake environment between c. 10 000 and 9000 cal. a BP. The first intrusion of marine water into the area is dated to c. 9000 cal. a BP. In the following c. 1300 years, brackish-water conditions prevailed in the area characterized by a mixture of taxa from marine, limnic and terrestrial habitats, reflecting a shallow estuarine environment. Around 7700 cal. a BP full marine conditions were established, accompanied by a marked increase in sedimentation rates. The changes to full marine conditions and higher sedimentation rates are probably due to a significant sea-level rise leading to flooding of former land areas and intensified erosion. A subsequent distinct decrease in sedimentation rates around 6350 cal. a BP is presumably linked to a previously documented sea-level drop about this time. Continuous sedimentation ceased around 3700 cal. a BP in the central part of the bay, most probably due to a major sea-level lowering involving widespread erosion. In the eastern and deeper part of the bay, sedimentation continued until today. Fully marine conditions prevailed there for at least the last 4400 years.     

A computational approach to Quaternary lake-level reconstruction applied in the central Rocky Mountains,Wyoming, USA

Sediment-based reconstructions of late-Quaternary lake levels provide direct evidence of hydrologic responses to climate change, but many studies only provide approximate lake-elevation curves. Here, we demonstrate a new method for producing quantitative time series of lake elevation based on the facies and elevations of multiple cores collected from a lake's margin. The approach determines the facies represented in each core using diagnostic data, such as sand content, and then compares the results across cores to determine the elevation of the littoral zone over time. By applying the approach computationally, decisions are made systematically and iteratively using different facies classification schemes to evaluate the associated uncertainty. After evaluating our assumptions using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), we quantify past lake-elevation changes, precipitation minus evapotranspiration (Δ_P−ET), and uncertainty in both at Lake of the Woods and Little Windy Hill Pond, Wyoming. The well-correlated (r = 0.802 ± 0.002) reconstructions indicate that water levels at both lakes fell at > 11,300, 8000–5500, and 4700–1600 cal yr BP when Δ_P − ET decreased to − 50 to − 250 mm/yr. Differences between the reconstructions are typically small (10 ± 24 mm/yr since 7000 cal yr BP), and the similarity indicates that our reconstruction method can produce statistically comparable paleohydrologic datasets across networks of sites.     

Holocene sea-level changes and glacio-isostasy in the Gulf of Finland, Baltic Sea

Shoreline displacement in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland during the past 9000 radiocarbon years was reconstructed by studying a total of 10 isolated lake and mire basins located in Virolahti in southeastern Finland and on the Karelian Isthmus, and in Ingermanland in Russia. Study methods were diatom analyses, sediment lithostratigraphical interpretation and radiocarbon dating. In southeastern Finland, the marine (Litorina) transgression maximum occurred ca. 6500–6200 ¹⁴C yr BP (7400–7100 cal. yr BP). In areas of the slower land uplift rate on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ingermanland, the transgression maximum occurred ca. 6400–6000 ¹⁴C yr BP (7300–6800 cal. yr BP). The highest Litorina shoreline is located at ca. 23 m above present sea-level in southeastern Finland, whereas in the eastern part of the Karelian Isthmus, near St. Petersburg, it is located at ca. 8 m above present sea-level. The amplitude of the Litorina transgression in Virolahti area is ca. 4 m, whereas on the Karelian Isthmus and in Ingermanland the amplitude has varied between 5 and 7 m. The regional differences between areas are solely due to different glacio-isostatic land uplift rates. The seven basins studied in this research were connected to the Baltic Sea basin during the Litorina Sea stage and their diatom and lithostratigraphical records indicate a single, smooth Litorina transgression.     

Terminal Pleistocene change in mammal communities in southeastern Washington State,USA

Small mammal communities in western North America experienced declines in taxonomic richness across the late Pleistocene to Holocene transition (PHT), a recent natural global warming event. One community also experienced a decline in evenness and others replaced one species with a congener. Variability in response of small mammal communities to PHT warming is apparent. At the presently arid and xeric Marmes site in the Columbia Basin of southeastern Washington State, megafauna were absent by about 13,000 cal yr BP, evenness of small mammals declined about 11,700 cal yr BP and again about 11,400 cal yr BP whereas richness declined about 11,400 cal BP. Regional faunal turnover was, however, minimal among small-bodied taxa. Local mammal communities are depauperate as a result of megafaunal extinctions and subsequent decreases in small-mammal richness and evenness. The latter chronologically corresponds with a decrease in primary productivity driven by increasing warmth and aridity. More faunas must be studied in order to fully document the range of variability in the responses of mammalian communities to PHT warming. Documentation of patterns in those responses will facilitate understanding and enhance predictive accuracy with respect to responses of mammalian communities to modern global warming.     

Holocene landscape evolution and geoarcheology of low-order streams in the Rio Grande basin,San Juan Mountains,Colorado, USA

This geoarcheological study investigates soil stratigraphy and geochronology of alluvial deposits to determine Holocene landscape evolution within the Hot Creek, La Jara Creek, and Alamosa River drainage basins in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Geomorphic mapping and radiocarbon dating indicate synchronicity in patterns of erosion, deposition, and stability between drainage basins. In all three basins, the maximum age of mapped alluvial terraces and fans is ~ 3300 cal yr BP. A depositional period seen at both Hot Creek and the Alamosa River begins ~ 3300 to 3200 cal yr BP. Based on soil development, short periods of stability followed by alluvial fan aggradation occur in the Alamosa River basin ~ 2200 cal yr BP. A period of landscape stability at Hot Creek before ~ 1100 cal yr BP is followed by a period of rapid aggradation within all three drainages between ~ 1100 and 850 cal yr BP. A final aggradation event occurred between ~ 630 and 520 cal yr BP at La Jara Creek. These patterns of landscape evolution over the past ~ 3300 yr provide the framework for an archeological model that predicts the potential for buried and surficial cultural materials in the research area.