Stratigraphic and sedimentologic field data in the Cochrane, Alberta, area demonstrate that glaciolacustrine sediment comprising the Calgary Formation underlies glaciofluvial and fluvial sediment of the Bighill Creek Formation, previously dated at 11.4 ka BP. A continuous, conformable contact between sediments of glacial Lake Calgary and underlying till indicates that the lake was coeval with initial deglaciation of the area. The lake formed during retreat of the Cordilleran ice up the Bow Valley that was once previously coalescent with the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Rhythmic, graded, and convoluted glaciolacustrine sediments record continuous and high rates of sedimentation in this reach of glacial Lake Calgary, further implying that the lake formed early in deglacial time.
