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Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake
Lake Agassiz may be the largest lake the world has ever known. By comparison, today’s Great Lakes are puny. Born of the melting ice that had covered North America for millennia, Lake Agassiz was a force of nature for 6,000 years. Its story is one of superlatives: inconceivable tsunamis that bored through solid rock; tributary torrents that gouged huge valleys, and colossal outpourings that created a mini-ice age in Europe.
Yet most of us know little about it. Bill Redekop’s Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake will change all that. Enthralling, enlightening and often amusing, it tells the story of the huge phantom lake from its discovery in the late 19th century to its impact on our lives today.
If you only buy one book this year, it should be Lake Agassiz.
Yet most of us know little about it. Bill Redekop’s Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake will change all that. Enthralling, enlightening and often amusing, it tells the story of the huge phantom lake from its discovery in the late 19th century to its impact on our lives today.
If you only buy one book this year, it should be Lake Agassiz.
263 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 13, 2025
Lots of interesting information contained within the, at times, painfully folksy prose.
March 22, 2018
Sometimes during times of deep thoughts, like when I’m waking up from an excellent nap, I wonder about other vocations I might have pursued if I were to live my life over. One of those is a geologist. As I become fully awake, reality sets in and I realize that I might not have been particularly fond of the lengthy and rigorous outdoor explorations that could have been involved. However, what doesn’t go away is an envy of the knowledge that geologists possess about the natural landscape around us. I’ve often found myself wondering about various geological features. What caused the Rocky Mountains to look the way they do? Why are the Black Hills of South Dakota there? Why does Newfoundland have such extraordinary geological features? And of course, living in Manitoba, why is the land around the Red River so flat? Why do the large dunes at Spirit Sands exist? Why is the Assiniboine Valley so massive in western Manitoba? Why do I so quickly encounter clay when I dig in our yard? I’ve accumulated a small collection of books over the years to help me answer some of these questions, but a good one on the geology of Manitoba seemed sadly lacking.
The recent book by Bill Redekop, Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake, has done an excellent job of filling much of that void. The book explores the creation and impact of Lake Agassiz, possibly the largest lake that has ever existed, documents the efforts of key people responsible for its discovery, and much more. That such a large lake was challenging to discover was, of course, because it doesn’t exist any longer. Lake Agassiz was the massive lake that covered much of southern Manitoba (and beyond) several thousand years ago as the latest incursion of glaciers melted during their retreat northward.
A key to the quality of the explanations in the book is that Redekop readily admits that, prior to deciding to write it, he knew very little about the subject. In his words, he possessed “appalling ignorance” of the subject. I suspect he can no longer make that claim because his research led him to some excellent people and other sources of information. I believe it was his initial ignorance that allowed him to write about the subject in a way that the rest of us could understand and appreciate.
Even though the geological parts of the book interested me the most, Lake Agassiz also reminds us that, a mere few thousand years ago, North America used to be inhabited by now-extinct animals (such as mammoths, 11-foot-tall bears, sabre-tooth cats, and giant sloths), how and when humans moved into the area, and what you might have caught while fishing in Lake Agassiz. The book also provides a glimpse of some historical figures who were key to deducing the past existence of kilometers-high glaciers that once covered Manitoba, and who pieced together the clues that provide our modern understanding of the creation, evolution, and eventual disappearance of Lake Agassiz.
While describing the many geological features resulting from the most recent glacial period and its aftermath, Redekop also points out how poorly identified these features are for tourists and the province’s residents. Manitoba’s geology might not be as blatant and showy as some places, but there’s much to be appreciated in the story behind the numerous subtle but extraordinary and fascinating escarpments, hills, valleys, lakes, eskers, moraines, and ancient beaches that can be found throughout the province.
Oh, and if I haven’t yet convinced you that reading Lake Agassiz will be worth your time, you’ve got to be intrigued by a book that contains a chapter entitled “Churchill is Hurtling Skyward”. It’s a fascinating and very satisfying read.
The recent book by Bill Redekop, Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake, has done an excellent job of filling much of that void. The book explores the creation and impact of Lake Agassiz, possibly the largest lake that has ever existed, documents the efforts of key people responsible for its discovery, and much more. That such a large lake was challenging to discover was, of course, because it doesn’t exist any longer. Lake Agassiz was the massive lake that covered much of southern Manitoba (and beyond) several thousand years ago as the latest incursion of glaciers melted during their retreat northward.
A key to the quality of the explanations in the book is that Redekop readily admits that, prior to deciding to write it, he knew very little about the subject. In his words, he possessed “appalling ignorance” of the subject. I suspect he can no longer make that claim because his research led him to some excellent people and other sources of information. I believe it was his initial ignorance that allowed him to write about the subject in a way that the rest of us could understand and appreciate.
Even though the geological parts of the book interested me the most, Lake Agassiz also reminds us that, a mere few thousand years ago, North America used to be inhabited by now-extinct animals (such as mammoths, 11-foot-tall bears, sabre-tooth cats, and giant sloths), how and when humans moved into the area, and what you might have caught while fishing in Lake Agassiz. The book also provides a glimpse of some historical figures who were key to deducing the past existence of kilometers-high glaciers that once covered Manitoba, and who pieced together the clues that provide our modern understanding of the creation, evolution, and eventual disappearance of Lake Agassiz.
While describing the many geological features resulting from the most recent glacial period and its aftermath, Redekop also points out how poorly identified these features are for tourists and the province’s residents. Manitoba’s geology might not be as blatant and showy as some places, but there’s much to be appreciated in the story behind the numerous subtle but extraordinary and fascinating escarpments, hills, valleys, lakes, eskers, moraines, and ancient beaches that can be found throughout the province.
Oh, and if I haven’t yet convinced you that reading Lake Agassiz will be worth your time, you’ve got to be intrigued by a book that contains a chapter entitled “Churchill is Hurtling Skyward”. It’s a fascinating and very satisfying read.
February 14, 2023
A Tortured Odyssey
If you are looking to systematically understand the effects of the Laurentide ice sheet on the geology of what is now central Canada, then there are much better resources with which to begin. Recommended to me by two friends, I was extremely disappointed in 'Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake'. Researched and written by a journalist it reads like a human-interest story and eventually covers the facts in fits and starts, but with a lot of intervening fill that is sometimes at best only obliquely related. Stylistically it is in many places poorly written, quirky, and simply ungrammatical. If these are attempts to engage the reader, then they most certainly do not work.
I like to read good literature, and I enjoy books on the physical sciences. 'Lake Agassiz' misses these marks on both counts. I found myself crossing out major portions of the text with a marker as irrelevant so that I could go back and reread that which was most factual, most scientific, most engaging, most relevant, and most interesting in regard to where I actually live...northern Manitoba. It was as if the author did not take the time to sift through his journal notes and wound up stringing them together in order to produce a coffee table book which could have been written more engagingly in fifty pages or less. Furthermore, many of the illustrations were neither well-presented nor well-explained.
If you are looking for anything other than a beginning high schooler’s understanding of the surficial geology of central Canada, then there are much better texts that are more engagingly written. Outside of standard university textbooks (such as the chapter on glaciation in the classic, 'Putnam’s Geology') anything written by James Teller on glacial Lake Agassiz is a good place to start and well worth the effort. Teller’s editing of 'Natural Heritage of Manitoba: Legacy of the Ice Age' is written for the average reader, and much better on all counts. The single greatest contribution that 'Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake' makes is found in its footnotes. Here you may find better resources for future exploration.
I came to the book with high hopes and was glad when I finished it after accompanying its author on a tortured odyssey.
If you are looking to systematically understand the effects of the Laurentide ice sheet on the geology of what is now central Canada, then there are much better resources with which to begin. Recommended to me by two friends, I was extremely disappointed in 'Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake'. Researched and written by a journalist it reads like a human-interest story and eventually covers the facts in fits and starts, but with a lot of intervening fill that is sometimes at best only obliquely related. Stylistically it is in many places poorly written, quirky, and simply ungrammatical. If these are attempts to engage the reader, then they most certainly do not work.
I like to read good literature, and I enjoy books on the physical sciences. 'Lake Agassiz' misses these marks on both counts. I found myself crossing out major portions of the text with a marker as irrelevant so that I could go back and reread that which was most factual, most scientific, most engaging, most relevant, and most interesting in regard to where I actually live...northern Manitoba. It was as if the author did not take the time to sift through his journal notes and wound up stringing them together in order to produce a coffee table book which could have been written more engagingly in fifty pages or less. Furthermore, many of the illustrations were neither well-presented nor well-explained.
If you are looking for anything other than a beginning high schooler’s understanding of the surficial geology of central Canada, then there are much better texts that are more engagingly written. Outside of standard university textbooks (such as the chapter on glaciation in the classic, 'Putnam’s Geology') anything written by James Teller on glacial Lake Agassiz is a good place to start and well worth the effort. Teller’s editing of 'Natural Heritage of Manitoba: Legacy of the Ice Age' is written for the average reader, and much better on all counts. The single greatest contribution that 'Lake Agassiz: The Rise and Demise of the World’s Greatest Lake' makes is found in its footnotes. Here you may find better resources for future exploration.
I came to the book with high hopes and was glad when I finished it after accompanying its author on a tortured odyssey.
June 24, 2022
Lake Agassiz was a glacial lake that existed between 14,300 and 8,200 years ago. Hemmed in by the Laurentide Ice Sheet, it changed in size and drained in different directions over its lifetime. It was the largest lake in the world for over a thousand years, at one times covering most of what is today the province of Manitoba. Lake Agassiz was bigger than glacial lakes in Europe and Asia as the Laurentide Ice Sheet was bigger than any on those continents.
The weight of Lake Agassiz caused the Earth's crust to sink about a kilometre. When the lake drained, the crust initially bounced back but it continues to recover today. When it broke through to the north and drained into the Hudson's Bay it not only raised sea levels but interrupted ocean currents, causing a drop in global temperatures.
Fossil teeth and tusks of mammoths (grass eaters with rounded teeth) and mastodons (shrub eaters with serrated teeth) have been found in southern Manitoba. Most date back 30,000 years which is before Lake Agassiz. Both animals were well on their way to extinction by the time Lake Agassiz formed.
Beringia was not just a land bridge, but a major area. Some 20,000 years ago, it is thought to have been 1600 km wide (north-south). Animals and humans moved across and around the area. Horses and cattle moved from North America to Asia, while muskoxen and bison did the opposite. Humans migrated into North America along the cost and later by land when glacial recession allowed.
The Manitoba escarpment owes its presence to cap rock made of Odanah shale which shields the underlying rock from erosion.
The end of Lake Agassiz occurred 8200 years ago (the 8.2 ka event) when seepage under the Laurentide Ice Sheet caused a final release in Hudson's Bay. The volume of water was some 15 times the current volume of Lake Superior and caused a widespread cooling.
An excellent book.
The weight of Lake Agassiz caused the Earth's crust to sink about a kilometre. When the lake drained, the crust initially bounced back but it continues to recover today. When it broke through to the north and drained into the Hudson's Bay it not only raised sea levels but interrupted ocean currents, causing a drop in global temperatures.
Fossil teeth and tusks of mammoths (grass eaters with rounded teeth) and mastodons (shrub eaters with serrated teeth) have been found in southern Manitoba. Most date back 30,000 years which is before Lake Agassiz. Both animals were well on their way to extinction by the time Lake Agassiz formed.
Beringia was not just a land bridge, but a major area. Some 20,000 years ago, it is thought to have been 1600 km wide (north-south). Animals and humans moved across and around the area. Horses and cattle moved from North America to Asia, while muskoxen and bison did the opposite. Humans migrated into North America along the cost and later by land when glacial recession allowed.
The Manitoba escarpment owes its presence to cap rock made of Odanah shale which shields the underlying rock from erosion.
The end of Lake Agassiz occurred 8200 years ago (the 8.2 ka event) when seepage under the Laurentide Ice Sheet caused a final release in Hudson's Bay. The volume of water was some 15 times the current volume of Lake Superior and caused a widespread cooling.
An excellent book.
January 19, 2018
The text is informative and interesting, although some of the word choices are a bit odd. For example, animals that don't eat meat aren't vegan; they're herbivores.
Unfortunately the images backing up the text fall short. Many maps are too small to read. Some should have legends, but don't. And many use shading to denote areas of interest but the difference in the amount of shading is very hard to see.
Unfortunately the images backing up the text fall short. Many maps are too small to read. Some should have legends, but don't. And many use shading to denote areas of interest but the difference in the amount of shading is very hard to see.
January 14, 2023
Found it very interesting and very well researched and well written. Good job. Bill
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