Figure 46. Evolution of Hard-Bottom Plains. The upper panel depicts the seafloor shortly after glaciers have left, and the ocean level is 80 m deeper than today. Glacial-marine mud mantles most of the seafloor. In the middle panel, the seafloor has isostatically rebounded following melting of the ice, but this deep-water setting remains submerged and continues to collect fine sediment. During the past few thousand years, as the tides in the Bay of Fundy area have increased dramatically (Gehrels and others, 1995, 1996), tidal currents have removed all fine-grained sediment and left a coarse-grained lag deposit.

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Last updated on October 6, 2005

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