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Observations of Exotic Tundra Boulders on the Arctic Coastal Plain of Northern Alaska (1826 to 2025)
This dataset documents the location and characteristics of 185 exotic tundra boulders found on the North Slope of Alaska, spanning observations from 1826 to 2025. These boulders—scattered across coastal tundra, estuarine margins, and barrier islands—represent a persistent but enigmatic feature of the Arctic landscape. Their lithologies, which include granite, quartzite, diabase, dolomite, chert, and gneiss, are exotic to the region and are widely interpreted to be ice-rafted debris deposited during Pleistocene highstands of the Arctic Ocean. Spatial and lithologic patterns suggest an origin in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Mackenzie River basin, transported westward by sea ice or icebergs during glacial periods. The dataset integrates georeferenced boulder locations from early exploration accounts (e.g., Leffingwell 1919; Stefansson 1910, Franklin and Richardson 1828), mid-century field surveys (MacCarthy 1958), geologic interpretations of offshore facies and provenance (Rodeick 1979) and USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) engineering geological maps (1980s), and modern field observations from the 2000s–2020s. Boulder characteristics—such as lithology, surface striations, and faceting—are included where available. These observations contribute to understanding of likely saline permafrost distribution, Arctic coastal dynamics, sea-level history, and the paleogeography of iceberg and sea-ice transport. They also provide a rare terrestrial window into ice-rafted sedimentation processes typically studied in marine environments. All data are curated in a comma separated spreadsheet with associated metadata to support future geomorphological, paleoclimatic, and sea-level modeling studies. The complete list of references is provided below: Barnes, P.W., 1982. Marine Ice-Pushed Boulder Ridge, Beaufort Sea, Alaska. ARCTIC 35, 312–316. https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic2330 Brigham, O.K., 1985. Marine stratigraphy and aaino-acid geochronology of the Gublk Fomatlon, western Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska. USGS Open File Report 381. Dease, P.W., Simpson, T., 1838. An Account of the Recent Arctic Discoveries by Messrs. Dease and T. Simpson. The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London 8, 213–225. Franklin, J., Richardson, J., 1828. Narrative of a Second Expedition to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1825, 1826, and 1827. Carey, Lea and Carey. Gibbs, A.E., Richmond, B.M., 2009. Oblique aerial photography of the Arctic coast of Alaska, Nulavik to Demarcation Point, August 7-10, 2006. US Geological Survey. Hopkins, D.M., Hartz, R.W., 1978. Coastal morphology, coastal erosion, and barrier islands of the Beaufort Sea, Alaska. US Geological Survey,. Jorgenson, M.T., 2011. Coastal region of northern Alaska, Guidebook to permafrost and related features (No.GB 10). Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. https://doi.org/10.14509/22762 McCarthy, G.R., 1958. Glacial Boulders on the Arctic Coast of Alaska. ARCTIC 11, 70–85. https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic3734 Naidu, A., Mowatt, T., 1992. Origin of gravels from the southern coast and continental shelf of the Beaufort Sea, Arctic Alaska, in: 1992 International Conference on Arctic Margins Proceedings Programs with Abstracts. pp. 351–356. O’Sullivan, J.B., 1961. Quaternary geology of the Arctic Coastal Plain, northern Alaska: Ames, Iowa, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, Ph.D. dissertation, 191 p., illust., maps. Iowa State University. Rawlinson, S.E., 1993. Surficial geology and morphology of the Alaskan central Arctic Coastal Plain (No. RI 93-1). Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys. https://doi.org/10.14509/2484 Reimnitz, E., Ross, R., 1979. Lag deposits of boulders in Stefansson Sound, Beaufort Sea, Alaska (No.79–1205), Open-File Report. U.S. Geological Survey,. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr791205 Rodeick, C.A., 1979. The origin, distribution, and depositional history of gravel deposits on the Beaufort Sea Continental Shelf, Alaska (No. 79–234), Open-File Report. U.S. Geological Survey,. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr79234 Schrader, F.C., Peters, W.J., 1904. A reconnaissance in northern Alaska across the Rocky Mountains, along Koyukuk, John, Anaktuvuk, and Colville Rivers, and the Arctic coast to Cape Lisburne, in 1901, with notes (USGS Numbered Series No. 20), Professional Paper. U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. https://doi.org/10.3133/pp20 Simpson, 1855. Observations on the western Esquimaux and the country they inhabit?: from notes taken during two years at Point Barrow | CiNii Research [WWW Document]. URL https://cir.nii.ac.jp/crid/1130000795332231552 (accessed 6.10.23). Smith, P.S., Mertie, J.B., 1930. Geology and mineral resources of northwestern Alaska. USGS Report 1. Stefansson, V., 1910. Notes from the Arctic. Am. Geogr. SOC. Bull 42, 460–1. Williams, J.R., 1983. Engineering-geologic maps of northern Alaska, Wainwright quadrangle (No. 83–457), Open-File Report. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr83458 Williams, J.R., Carter, L.D., 1984. Engineering-geologic maps of northern Alaska, Barrow quadrangle (No.84–124), Open-File Report. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr84126 Williams, R.J., 1983. Engineering-geologic maps of northern Alaska, Meade River quadrangle (No. 83–294), Open-File Report. U.S. Geological Survey. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr83325 Wolf, S.C., Reimnitz, E., Barnes, P.W., 1985. Pleistocene and Holocene seismic stratigraphy between the Canning River and Prudhoe Bay, Beaufort Sea, Alaska. US Geological Survey,. de Koven Leffingwell, E., 1908. Flaxman Island, a Glacial Remnant. The Journal of Geology 16, 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1086/621490 de Koven Leffingwell, E., 1919. The Canning river region, northern Alaska (No. 109). US Government Printing Office.
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