Permafrost Map for Northwestern Canada (Mackenzie Region)
Summary
The Permafrost Map for Northwestern Canada (Mackenzie Region) is a digital version of the 1:1,000,000 map produced by Heginbottom and Radburn [Heginbottom, J.A. and Radburn, L.K. (compilers) 1992. Permafrost and ground ice conditions of northwestern Canada; Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1691A, scale 1:1,000,000.] The map provides information on permafrost distribution and ground ice conditions in the Mackenzie Region of northwestern Canada. The data set comprises three data layers: maps of permafrost zones, rivers, and lakes. The map themes (layers) are in the ESRI Shapefile spatial data format. The permafrost map codes continuous, discontinuous, intermediate, sporadic, and isolated permafrost, and glaciers. Data are available via ftp.
Citing These Data:
Heginbottom, J.A. and Radburn, L.K. (compilers) 1992. Permafrost and ground ice conditions of northwestern Canada; Geological Survey of Canada, Map 1691A, scale 1:1,000,000. Digitized by S. Smith, Geological Survey of Canada. Boulder, CO: National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital Media.
Overview Table
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Data format | ESRI Shapefiles, jpg image file, and text legend |
| Spatial coverage | 60°-70° N, 120°-142° W |
| File naming convention | ggd630_permafrost.jpg - JPEG of permafrost map ggd630_project.apr - ArcView project file ggd630_permafrost.tar.gz - Shapefile files for permafrost map ggd630_lakes.tar.gz - Shapefile files for lakes theme ggd630_rivers.tar.gz - Shapefile files for rivers theme ggd630_legend.txt - Legend for permafrost map |
| File size | 23 KB to 5.7 MB |
| Parameter(s) | Permafrost: continuous, discontinuous, intermediate, sporadic, isolated, glaciers. |
| Procedures for obtaining data | data are available via ftp |
Table of Contents
1. Contacts
2. Detailed Data Description
3. References and Related Publications
4. Document Information
1. Contacts:
Investigator(s) Name and Title:
Sharon Smith (project supervisor)
Geological Survey of Canada
601 Booth Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0EB
Canada
Technical Contact:
NSIDC User Services
National Snow and Ice Data Center
CIRES, 449 UCB
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0449 USA
phone: +1 303.492.6199
fax: +1 303.492.2468
form: Contact NSIDC User Services
e-mail: nsidc@nsidc.org
Acknowledgements:
Funding for conversion of the map of Heginbottom and Radburn (1992) to digital format was provided by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC) and the Canadian Governments Climate Change Action Fund. The map was produced by Jason Chartrand under superivision by Sharon Smith of the GSC.
2. Detailed Data Description:
File and Directory Structure:
The directory contains the following files:
ggd630_permafrost.jpg - JPEG of permafrost map
ggd630_legend.pdf - Legend for permafrost map
ggd630_project.apr - ArcView project file
ggd630_permafrost.tar.gz - Shapefile files for permafrost map
ggd630_lakes.tar.gz - Shapefile files for lakes theme
ggd630_rivers.tar.gz - Shapefile files for rivers (drainage) theme
Each Shapefile theme has a minimum of three files associated with it: .shp (feature geometry), .shx (feature geometry index) and .dbf (dBASE format attribute data).
Format:
The maps are in a vector format stored as ESRI Shapefile spatial data format. The Shapefiles are most easily imported into ESRI's ArcView, but most other GIS packages can import Shapefiles. ESRI also provides a free basic GIS package, ArcExplorer, on the ESRI web site.
ESRI Shapefiles for the permafrost map, a rivers map, and a lakes map are provided. The ArcView project file which was used to create the maps (ggd630_project.apr) is also provided.
The permafrost map was digitized from an original with scale 1:1,000,000. The units are meters. The rivers (drainage) map was extracted from 1:2 million scale digital maps provided by Geomatics Canada. All maps/layers are in the Lambert Conformal Conic projection with WGS 84 datum. Projection parameters are
Central Meridian: 130°W
Standard Parallels: 61°40 N and 68°20 N
Latitude of the origin: 59°N
X,Y shift = 0
File Size:
The ESRI Shapefiles range from 23 KB to 5.7 MB. The JPG version of the map is 306 KB.
Map Attributes:
The river and lake maps have one attribute ("code" in ArcView) each. Codes for the river layer are set to 'river' and codes for the lake layer are set to 'lake'.
There is one attribute for the permafrost zone map. This code is TAG and contains alphanumeric codes that are described below.
CONTINUOUS PERMAFROST:
5MH Moderate to high ice content due to presence of ice lenses
- Alluvial terrace deposits: silt and silty clay
- Colluvial blanket deposits: fine grained diamicton
containing some lenses and beds of sand, gravel and
rubble
- Bedrock area of low resistance to erosion in
unglaciated areas
5LH Low to high ice content in sandy sediments, as wedges;
moderate to high ice content in silty and clayey sediments,
as lenses and rectangular veins; massive ice commonly occurs
at depth and in pingos
- Lacustrine and marine deposits as plains and intertidal
lagoons: interbedded silt, clayey silt, and silty sand,
locally underlain by diamicton
5LM Low to moderate ice content, as lenses and reticulate veins,
higher ice content with depth; massive ice may be present at
base of diamicton and in underlying sediments
- Alluvial deposits as fans, plains, and terraces: sands
and isolated silty layers
- Morainal and colluvial blanket deposits: stony clay
diamicton; may overlie marine and glaciofluvial
deposits(1,2)
- Glaciated upland and piedmont complex: mainly till and
disintergrated bedrock; overlies areas of moderate to
low slope
- Veneered bedrock: diamicton overlying low rounded hills
and ridges of unglaciated bedrock
- Exposed bedrock: varied bedrock types
5NL Nil to low ice content, as wedges
- Alluvial deposits: coarse sand and gravel(3)
- Glaciofluvial deposits as outwash plains, kames, and
eskers: sand and interbedded sand and gravel(1,4)
- Colluvial deposits as blankets and veneers: coarse
diamicton; may overlie areas of unglaciated bedrock
- Glacially deformed marine deposits: clay and silt, thin
beds of fine sand may be present
5N Ice content Nil
- Exposed bedrock: varied bedrock types
---------------------------------------------------
DISCONTINUOUS PERMAFROST:
4MH Moderate to high ice content where material frozen, as thin
seams, reticulate veins, and wedges; massive ice may occur
at depth
- Lacustrine and glaciolacustrine blanket deposits:
primarily silt and silty clay with some fine sand and
gravel; thermokarst depression common in areas of high
ice content; locally underlain by diamicton(4,5,6)
- Alluvial deposits as floodplains and terraces: silty
sand and silt; thermokarst depressions common in
floodplains(5)
4LM Ice content low to moderate where material frozen, as thin
seams, reticulate veins, lenses, and wedges; massive ice
may occur at depth
- Morainal and colluvial deposits as veneers and
blankets: diamicton
- Alluvial deposits as floodplains, terraces, and fans:
fine grained sand and silt(1)
- Glaciofluvial and Glaciolacustrine deposits as outwash
plains and plains and terraces: gravel, sand, and
silt(1,3,7)
- Glaciated upland and piedmont: disintergrated bedrock
4NL Nil to low ice content where material frozen
- Glaciofluvial deposits as terraces, eskers, and kames:
gravel and sand(3)
- Landslide debris deposits: extremely variable textures
- Eroded and eroding river banks: surface colluvial
materials on moderate to steep valley walls and scarps
- Alluvial terrace deposits: gravel(3)
4N Ice content nil where material frozen
- Talus aprons: cobbles and boulders
- Exposed bedrock: varied bedrock types(8)
4V Highly variable ice content where material frozen, depending
on topographic positions: crest of prominent ridges are
generally ice-free, intervening depressions have moderate
to high ice content
- Hummocky, ridged moraine: clayey to gravelly sandy till
---------------------------------
INTERMEDIATE:
3MH Moderate to high ice content where material frozen
- Lacustrine blanket deposits: silty clay, silt, and
sand; locally underlain by diamicton
3LH Low to high ice content where material frozen, as thin seams,
lenses, and reticulate veins
- Alluvial deposits as fans and terraces: mainly silt and
fine sand, locally includes gravel and clay; may be
underlain with colluvium
- Glaciolacustrine plain deposits: fine sand, silt, and
clay
3LM Low to moderate ice content where material frozen, as thin
seams, lenses, and wedges
- Morainal and colluvial blanket deposits: diamicton
- Alluvial deposits as floodplains, fans and aprons,
deltas, and terraces, interbedded silt, sand, and
gravel(1,3)
- Glaciofluvial deposits as outwash plains, fans, and
terraces: sand and gravel with veneer of silt or fine
grained sand
- Marine deposits as tidal flats: interbedded silt,
clayey silt, and sand, generally high in organic
content
3NL Nil to low ice content where material frozen, as thin seams
- Glaciofluvial deposits as outwash plains, kame
terraces, and eskers: gravel and sand
- Alluvial deposits as deltas, floodplains, terraces:
predominantly gravel(3)
- Veneered bedrock: poorly sorted diamicton
- Eolian deposits: sand
3N Ice content nil where material frozen
- Exposed bedrock: varied bedrock types
- Talus aprons: cobbles and boulders
3V Variable ice content where material frozen, depending on
topographic position: crests of prominent ridges are
generally ice free, intervening depressions have moderate
to high ice content, as seams and lenses
- Hummocky, ridged moraine: clayey to gravelly sandy till
---------------------------------
SPORADIC:
2LM Low to moderate ice content where material frozen, as lenses
and wedges
- Morainal and colluvial blanket deposits: diamicton
2L Low ice content where material frozen
2NL Nil to low ice content where material frozen
- Glaciofluvial as outwash plains, drumlins, kames,
hummocks, and eskers: sand and interbedded sand and
gravel
- Veneered bedrock: colluvium
- Alluvial deposits and fans, terraces and floodplains:
gravel, sand, and silt
- Landslide debris deposits: variable textures
- Marine beach deposits as spits and bars: sand and gravel
2N Ice content nil where material frozen
- Exposed bedrock: varied bedrock types
- Alluvial deposits as plains, fans, and terraces:
gravel, sand, and silt(3)
------------------------------------
ISOLATED PATCHES:
1L Low ice content where material frozen, as lenses
- Eolian deposits as dunes: sand; generally overlies
glaciofluvial outwash and lacustrine deposits
- Alluvial fan deposits: sand and gravel
- Glaciofluvial deposits as outwash plains and kame
terraces: gravel and sand with few beds of silt
1NL Nil to low ice content where material frozen
- Ridged glaciofluvial deposits such as eskers: gravel
and sand
1N Ice content nil where material frozen
- Alluvial deposits as active floodplains, terraces, and
fans: gravel, rarely sand and silt(9)
MG Modern glaciers
MGM Modern glaciers with moraine cover
NOTES:
(1) Ice content locally higher in lenses of silt and clay
(2) May have higher ice content where underlain with by marine
sediments, especially in the northern part of the map area
(3) Ice content locally high where silt, clay, and/or peat form
veneers or fill depressions
(4) In some areas, such as the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, may be
covered by sand dunes consisting of fine to medium sand, in
places silty, with isolated peaty layers; higher ice content
in silt and peat
(5) Ice content locally lower in lenses of coarser material
(6) May have lower ice content in well drained areas lacking
thermokarst depressions
(7) Ice content very high where underlain by silt and clay
(8) Possible low ice content in the northern part of the map area
(9) May have ice content in some areas
Spatial Coverage:
The maps cover the northwest sector of Canada (Mackenzie Region), including most of the Yukon Territory and the western section of the Northwest Territory (60°-70° N, 120°-142° W).
Parameter or Variable:
The permafrost map provides information about permafrost distribution across the Mackenzie region of Canada, including continuous, discontinuous, intermediate, sporadic, and isolated permafrost, and glaciers.
3. References and Related Publications:
Heginbottom, J.A., M.A. Dubreuil and P.A. Harker (1995) Canada - Permafrost, in: National Atlas of Canada, 5th Edition, National Atlas Information Service, Natural Resources Canada, MCR 4177.
Heginbottom, J.A. and L.K. Radburn (comp). 1992. Permafrost and Ground Ice Conditions of Northwestern Canada / Conditions rélatives au pergélisol et à la glace de sol du nord-ouest du Canada. Map 1691A. Scale 1:1,000,000. Energy, Mines and Resources Canada, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada.
4. Document Information:
Document Creation Date:
March 24, 2003
Document URL:
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