Lake E5

Lake E5
Oil Lake
Interactive map of Lake E5
LocationNorth Slope Borough, Alaska, U.S.
Coordinates68°38′33″N 149°27′29″W / 68.64247°N 149.45809°W / 68.64247; -149.45809
Unnamed stream, ultimately to Kuparuk River
320 acres (1.3 km2)
Surface area
24 acres (0.097 km2)
Max. depth42 feet (13 m)
Surface elevation
2,608 feet (795 m)

Lake E5, also known as Oil Lake, is a small lake in northern Alaska. Located just south of the Dalton Highway in the northeastern foothills of the Brooks Range, biomarkers within sediment deposits found at the lake have indicated the presence of humans in the region since at least 32,000 years ago. However, no archaeological remains have been located in the area.

Hydrology

Lake E5, also known as Oil Lake, is a small lake in the North Slope Borough, Alaska, about 325 feet (100 m) south of the Dalton Highway on the northeastern foothills of the Brooks Range. It has a surface area of around 24 acres (0.1 km2), measuring 2,130 feet (650 m) long at its longest and 1,020 feet (310 m) at its widest. With a surface elevation of about 2,608 feet (795 m) above sea level, its maximum depth is 42 feet (10 m). Its drainage basin covers about 320 acres (1.3 km2), encompassing a region of rolling hills mostly to the southwest of the lake, plus two seasonal streams to the south and southwest. It is drained by a small outlet on the northern tip of the lake to the Kuparuk River to the northeast.

The surrounding region is covered by tussock-covered tundra, with erratic boulders on a ridge southwest of the lake protruding from the vegetation. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline runs just to the south of the lake.

Geology and paleoclimate

The lake sits on a moraine formed during the advance of the Sagavanirktok River Glaciation, dating to the Middle Pleistocene. Slightly west of the lake are deposits from the younger Itkillik Glaciation dating to the Late Pleistocene. Although it has likely received infill since the Middle Pleistocene, reducing its size, it has not dried completely, forming a continuous history of sediment layers during this time.

Fecal biomarkers and evidence of increased fire prevalence from the lake's sediment record suggest the presence of humans in the surrounding region since at least 32,000 years ago. Alongside similar sediment data from Burial Lake and controversial evidence from the Bluefish Caves site in the Yukon, this data suggests human presence in eastern Beringia for millennia prior to 23,000 years ago, the estimated date of genetic isolation between ancient East Asians and the ancestors of modern Native Americans. The Beringian Standstill Hypothesis suggests that a human population resided in Beringia during this period before dispersing across North America, likely concentrated along the now-underwater Bering Land Bridge.

A 2022 archaeological survey performed reconnaissance and dug test pits around the Lake E5 basin, but did not find any signs of prehistoric human habitation in the area. Evidence elsewhere in the northeastern Brooks Range attests human presence for the past roughly 12,000 years.

References

  1. ↑ Sinon et al. 2026, pp. 2–3.
  2. ↑ Goebel et al. 2022, p. 3.
  3. 1 2 Goebel et al. 2022, pp. 3–4.
  4. ↑ Vachula 2020, pp. 303–305.
  5. ↑ Vachula et al. 2019, pp. 38–42.
  6. ↑ Goebel et al. 2022, pp. 3–6.

Bibliography

  • Daniels, William C.; Russell, James M.; Morrill, Carrie; Longo, William M.; Giblin, Anne E.; Holland-Stergar, P.; Welker, Jeffery M.; Wen, X.; Hu, Aixue; Huang, Yongsong (2021). "Lacustrine Leaf Wax Hydrogen Isotopes Indicate Strong Regional Climate Feedbacks in Beringia Since The Last Ice Age". Quaternary Science Reviews. 269. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.107130.
  • Eisner, Wendy R.; Colinvaux, Paul A. (1992). "Late Quaternary Pollen Records from Oil Lake and Feniak Lake, Alaska, U.S.A.". Arctic and Alpine Research. 24 (1): 56–63. doi:10.1080/00040851.1992.12002927.
  • Goebel, Ted; Hoffecker, John F.; Graf, Kelly E.; Vachula, Richard S. (2022). "Archaeological Reconnaissance at Lake E5 in the Brooks Range, Alaska and Implications for the Early Human Biomarker Record of Beringia". Quaternary Science Reviews. 286. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107553.
  • Longo, William M. (2017). Temperature and Terrestrial Carbon Cycling in Northeastern Beringia since the Last Glacial Maximum: Insights From Novel Organic Geochemical Proxies (PhD thesis). Brown University. doi:10.7301/Z09W0CZX.
  • Longo, William M.; Huang, Yongsong; Russell, James M.; Morrill, Carrie; Daniels, William C.; Giblin, Anne E.; Crowther, Josue (2020). "Insolation and Greenhouse Gases Drove Holocene Winter and Spring Warming in Arctic Alaska". Quaternary Science Reviews. 242. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106438.
  • Sinon, Hailey K.; Abbott, Mark B.; Rosenheim, Brad E.; Firesinger, Devon; Tracey, Helene C.; Finney, Bruce; Shelef, Eitan (2026). "A 45-Thousand-Year Record of Aged Carbon Dynamics in Arctic Alaska Identified Using Radiocarbon Age-Offset From Lake E5". Arctic Science. 12: 1–21. doi:10.1139/as-2025-0072.
  • Vachula, Richard S.; Huang, Yongsong; Longo, William M.; Dee, Sylvia G.; Daniels, William C.; Russell, James M. (2019). "Evidence of Ice Age Humans in Eastern Beringia Suggests Early Migration to North America". Quaternary Science Reviews. 205: 35–44. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.12.003.
  • Vachula, Richard S. (2020). "Alaskan Lake Sediment Records and Their Implications for the Beringian Standstill Hypothesis". PaleoAmerica. 6 (4): 303–307. doi:10.1080/20555563.2020.1818171.