ABSTRACT
The eastern half of Georges Bank has always been a productive cod ground—one of the most famous south of the Grand Banks. Local cod populations, like those of Georges Bank, exist in a precarious balance, with two factors controlling abundance: natural phenomena and human fishing activities. The exposed lowland became eroded by streams, and the Eastern Channel between Georges and Browns Banks was the main outlet of the drainage system. Streams of this system apparently eroded what is the steep slope on the northern edge of Georges Bank and carved out valleys that later became the major depressions of the gulf, including Jordan, Georges, and Wilkinson Basins. Ice filled the Gulf, but the ice advance apparently was stopped against the steep north-facing slope of Georges Bank and was deflected eastward to form an immense valley glacier flowing through Northeast Channel and calving icebergs into the deep water over the edge of the Continental Shelf.
