Temporal and spatial representativeness of alpine sediment yields: Cascade Mountains, British Columbia

New alpine, lake-based sediment yield data are presented from a cirque basin in the alpine zone of the Cascade Mountains, British Columbia. Average rates of sediment deposition in Glacier Lake from a 1.33 km2 basin were 7 ta-1 (BP) 10300-6845 BP, 8ta-1(BP) 6845-3390 BP and 9-8ta-1(BP) 3390 BP to the present. The potential representativeness of the site is carefully assessed on the basis of three major axes of variability: lithology, climate and relief. Slope frequency data suggest the site is representative of the cirque component of the landscape but not of the whole alpine zone. The results emphasize the importance of considering the spatial variability of relief and the temporal variability of climate in assessing the representativeness of sediment yield data. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.