Glacial geomorphology of northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

During the regional Last Glacial Maximum, the Cordilleran Ice Sheet (CIS) enveloped coastal British Columbia, Canada spreading across parts of the adjacent continental shelf influencing subsequent postglacial ecosystem development and the dispersal of early humans and other biota along the Northwest coast of North America. The current understanding of these ice sheet dynamics is primarily derived from aerial photo mapping and field campaigns between 1970–1990; however, the glacial geomorphology of large portions of the region remains undescribed. We present a detailed map of glacial landforms in the terrestrial and surrounding marine regions of northern Vancouver Island. Using high-resolution lidar-derived digital elevation models (DEMs), a 10–100 m topo-bathymetry DEM, high resolution 3 m satellite imagery, and targeted ground truthing, we map 13,386 newly identified geomorphic and glacial geomorphic features and include 136 previously mapped glacial features. Findings indicate that the CIS was undergoing complex multiphase ice retreat along its coastal margins.