Rolling uplands in the Fraser Valley are relics of the Ice Age. They are underlain by sediments of several glaciations. Surface materials on the uplands date to the end of the last glaciation about 13,000 years ago. At that time, glaciers flowed into the Fraser Valley from mountains to the east and north. Streams issuing from these glaciers left deposits of sand and gravel. Seas were higher then, drowning land below an elevation of 200 m. Shell-bearing marine silt and clay, which cover some Ice Age uplands, date to this time. However, soon after deglaciation, the land, freed of the weight of its ice load, rapidly rebounded and the uplands emerged from the sea.

Photo #23 Photo #24

Ice-Age upland near Langley (23-close up, 24-aerial view to the northwest). This upland is underlain mainly by silty and clayey marine sediments. Soils developed on these sediments are very productive and are one of the reasons the Fraser Valley is an important agricultural area. Only 4% of British Columbia's farmland is in the Fraser Valley, yet this area accounts for over 50% of B.C.'s agricultural income, about $500 million per year.