Molluscan evidence for a late Pleistocene sea-level lowstand from Monterey Bay, central California

Abstract

One hundred and twenty-three molluscan taxa are reported from four samples collected from a sea level lowstand deposit located between 100 m and 300 m below sea level in Monterey Bay, central California. Ecological interpretations of these mollusks suggest temperatures essentially equivalent to those from Puget Sound, Washington, to southern British Columbia; much cooler water than exists in Monterey Bay today; and water depths of about 10 to 50 m. Chlamys rubida from these deposits yield a 14C age determination of about 17,000 yr B. P. This age is generally equivalent to a worldwide sea level lowstand between 20,000 and 15,000 yr B. P. of at least 100 m below modern sea level. The cooler and shallow-water aspect of the lowstand molluscan fauna is in full accord with the late Pleistocene paleogeography of Monterey Bay.