Discussion of “Late Wisconsinan Mountain Glaciation in the Northern Presidential Range, New Hampshire” by Dwight C. Bradley

Abstract

The cirques of New Hampshire's northern Presidential Range are inviting subjects for study; the possibility that glaciers drained from them after the dissipation of the last ice sheet remains a subject of debate. The lack of distinctive morphologic evidence in the form of terminal or lateral moraines has long been recognized in the region. Thompson (1960, 1961) argues that mass-wasting processes have subdued or eliminated morainic features, although Goldthwait (1970) cites geologic and morphologic evidence to conclude that no cirque glaciers existed after the late Wisconsinan inundation by the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Our work in the area (Gerath, 1978; ***Fowler, unpublished data) supports Goldthwait's general conclusions. We disagree with the evidence presented by Bradley (1981); our comments are based on previous work and a reexamination of field and air-photo evidence since an early draft of Bradley's paper came to our attention in 1980.