A kettle (or kettle hole) is a fluvioglacial landform occurring
as the result of blocks of ice calving from the front of a receding
glacier and becoming partially to wholly buried by glacial outwash.
Glacial outwash is generated when sediment laden streams of
meltwater flow away from the glacier and are deposited to form
broad outwash plains called sandurs. When the ice blocks melt,
holes are left in the sandur. When the development of numerous
kettle holes disrupt sandur surfaces, a jumbled assemblage of
ridges and mounds form, resembling kame and kettle topography.
Kettle holes can also occur in ridge shaped deposits of
unconsolidated rock fragments called till. Kettle holes can also
form as the result of floods caused by the sudden drainage of an
ice-dammed lake. These floods, called Jokulhlaups, often rapidly
deposit large quantities of sediment onto the sandur surface. The
kettle holes are formed by the melting blocks of sediment rich ice
that were transported and consequently buried by the Jokulhlaups.
It was found in field observations and laboratory simulations done
by Maizels in 1992 that ramparts form around the edge of kettle
holes that are generated by Jokulhlaups. The development of
distinct types of ramparts depend on the concentration of rock
fragments contained in the melted ice block and how deep the block
was buried by sediment.
The wetland complex is situated on and around the Brampton
Buried Esker, an esker covered in Halton Till. Eskers are linear
sand and gravel deposits laid down by rivers under glaciers.
Kettles or depressions in this esker support kettle lakes, kettle
bogs and kettle wetlands that are more typical of the Oak Ridges
Moraine to the north. The buried esker occurs on the South Slope
physiographic region that abuts the Oak Ridges Moraine. The South
Slope historically was cleared for agriculture with few woodlands
and wetlands remaining. It is estimated that less than 1% of the
South Slope still supports wetlands. This Wetland Complex is one of
the largest wetland complexes remaining on the South Slope. It
provides the only examples of kettle lakes and kettle bogs on the
South Slope (OMNR - Aurora District, 2000). 67% of the area has
humic/mesic soils, with 21% clay/loam, 10% sand and 2% silt/marl
(Zajc et al., 2000)
The posted coordinates will take you to the entrance of the
park. The park hours and admission can be found at the following
link. Hours
and Admission. Once you enter the park you can proceed to the
Pineview area for an elevated view of the lake, or to the Beach
Centre for a close up view and a swim if you brought your swim
suit.
Requirements
Part 1
To claim a find for this cache, please email me how this lake got
it’s name. You should be able to see this from any of the elevated
vantage points.
Part 2
This is a spring fed lake, so for bonus points post in your log,
the temperature of the water and a picture of you measuring the
temperature. Only do this step from the beach, and take care of any
small children you have with you. In the winter months the lake
will freeze. If it is snow covered, keep back from the water and
just email me the answer to part one.