Kankakee Torrent

Sandstone cliff at Starved Rock State Park, carved by the force of the Kankakee Torrent some 19,000 years ago

The Kankakee Torrent was a catastrophic flood that occurred about 19,000 calibrated years ago[1] in the Midwestern United States. It resulted from a breach of moraines forming a large glacial lake fed by the melting of the Late Wisconsin Laurentide Ice Sheet. The point of origin of the flood was Lake Chicago.[1] The landscape south of Chicago still shows the effects of the torrent, particularly at Kankakee River State Park[2] and on the Illinois River at Starved Rock State Park.[3]

  1. ^ a b Curry, B.B., Hajic, E.R., Clark, J.A., Befus, K.M., Carrell, J.E. and Brown, S.E., 2014. "The Kankakee Torrent and other large meltwater flooding events during the last deglaciation, Illinois, USA." Quaternary Science Reviews, 90, pp.22-36.
  2. ^ Frankie, W.T., 1998. "Guide to the Geology of Kankakee River State Park Area, Kankakee County, Illinois." Illinois Geological Survey, Field Trip 1997C, Field Trip 1998 B. 11-17.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference StarvedRock was invoked but never defined (see the help page).