Chapter 40. Appalachian Planation Surfaces
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Interpretation of Cumberland Escarpment and Highland Rim, South-Central Tennessee and Northeast Alabama
Interpretation of Cumberland Escarpment and Highland Rim, South-Central Tennessee and Northeast Alabama GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 524-C Interpretation of Cumberland Escarpment and Highland Rim, South-Central Tennessee and Northeast Alabama By JOHN T. HACK SHORTER CONTRIBUTIONS TO GENERAL GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 524-C Theories of landscape origin are compared using as an example an area of gently dipping rocks that differ in their resistance to erosion UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1966 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 CONTENTS Page Page Abstract___________________________________________ C1 Cumberland Plateau and Highland Rim as a system in Introduction_______________________________________ 1 equilibrium______________________________________ C7 General description of area___________________________ 1 Valleys and coves of the Cumberland Escarpment___ 7 Cumberland Plateau and Highland Rim as dissected and Surficial deposits of the Highland Rim____________ 10 deformed peneplains _____________________ ,... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 Elk River profile_______________________________ 12 Objections to the peneplain theory____________________ 5 Paint Rock Creek profile________________________ 14 Eastern Highland Rim Plateau as a modern peneplain__ 6 Conclusions________________________________________ 14 Equilibrium concept -
The Logan Plateau, a Young Physiographic Region in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee
The Logan Plateau, a Young Physiographic Region in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1620 . II • r ,j • • ~1 =1 i1 .. ·~ II .I '1 .ill ~ I ... ... II 'II .fi :. I !~ ...1 . ~ !,~ .,~ 'I ~ J ·-=· ..I ·~ tJ 1;1 .. II "'"l ,,'\. d • .... ·~ I 3: ... • J ·~ •• I -' -\1 - I =,. The Logan Plateau, a Young Physiographic Region in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee By WILLIAM F. OUTERBRIDGE A highly dissected plateau with narrow valleys, steep slopes, narrow crested ridges, and landslides developed on flat-lying Pennsylvanian shales and subgraywacke sandstone during the past 1.5 million years U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1620 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR DONALD PAUL HODEL, Secretary U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Dallas L. Peck, Director UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1987 For sale by the Books and Open-File Reports Section, U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Box 25425, Denver, CO 80225 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Outerbridge, William F. The Logan Plateau, a young physiographic region in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. (U.S. Geological Survey bulletin ; 1620) Bibliography: p. 18. Supt. of Docs. no.: I 19.3:1620 1. Geomorphology-Logan Plateau. I. Title. II. Series. QE75.B9 no. 1620 557.3 s [551.4'34'0975] 84-600132 [GB566.L6] CONTENTS Abstract 1 Introduction 1 Methods of study 3 Geomorphology 4 Stratigraphy 9 Structure 11 Surficial deposits 11 Distribution of residuum 11 Depth of weathering 11 Soils 11 Landslides 11 Derivative maps of the Logan Plateau and surrounding area 12 History of drainage development since late Tertiary time 13 Summary and conclusions 17 References cited 18 PLATES [Plates are in pocket] 1. -
Description of a Land Classification System and Its Application to the Management of Tennessee’S State Forests
DESCRIPTION OF A LAND CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM AND ITS APPLICATION TO THE MANAGEMENT OF TENNESSEE’S STATE FORESTS Glendon W. Smalley, S. David Todd, and K. Ward Tarkington III1 Abstract—The Tennessee Division of Forestry has adopted a land classification system developed by the senior author as the basic theme of information for the management of its 15 state forests (162,371 acres) with at least 1 in each of 8 physio- graphic provinces. This paper summarizes the application of the system to six forests on the Cumberland Plateau. Landtypes are the most detailed level in the hierarchical system and represent distinct units of the landscape (mapped at a scale of 1:24,000) as defined by physiography, climate, geology, soils, topography, and vegetation. Each of the 39 landtypes are described in terms of geographic setting, dominant soils, parent material, depth to bedrock, soil texture, soil drainage, relative soil water supply, relative fertility, and forest type. Additional information includes species suitable, site productivity, and operability for management activities. The maps aid the delineation of stands, streamside management zones, and “conservation” and other special use areas; the location of rare, threaten and endangered (RTE) species; the design of harvests; and the modeling of future forest conditions. The landtypes are an integral element in modeling wildlife habitat, in siting game food plots, and planning other wildlife management activities, particularly on forests that are dual wildlife and forest management areas. The maps are excellent training devices and extremely useful in explaining management plans to legislators and the public. INTRODUCTION The five levels of Smalley’s system proceeding from the least- The Tennessee Division of Forestry (TDF) has adopted a land detailed to the most-detailed are: physiographic province, classification system developed by the senior author (Smalley region, subregion, landtype association, and landtype. -
The Remarkable African Planation Surface Michael J
Papers The remarkable African Planation Surface Michael J. Oard Geomorphology, within the uniformitarian paradigm, has great difficulty explaining the origin of landforms. One of these landforms, most of which were once much larger, is the planation surface. Planation surfaces are common and worldwide. They are not forming today but are being destroyed. Africa is covered with the most planation surfaces of any continent, but the number and age of the planation surfaces has always been controversial. A new synthesis of African planation surfaces concludes that there is one large, warped planation surface on Africa, called the African Surface. Most of the African Surface is capped by a chemical precipitate called a duricrust, the origin of which is a puzzle. Planation and erosion surfaces could readily have formed as the floodwater retreated off the continents during uplift. eologists once thought that by throwing out the Genesis minor forms such as hill, valley, slope, esker, and GFlood in Earth history they could easily explain the dune.”5 features of the earth’s surface. William Morris Davis, the Other names for geomorphology are ‘physiography’ most renowned geomorphologist in the early and mid- and ‘physical geography’. Various regions of the earth have twentieth century, stated: been subdivided according to similar geomorphology and “The emancipation of geology from the doctrine are called ‘provinces’. of catastrophism was a necessary step before The definition of ‘landform’ from the fifth edition of the progress could be made towards an understanding Glossary of Geology is the same as the one from the older of the lands.”1 Dictionary of Geological Terms,6 except for the addition As a result of this shift in worldview in the of the phrase “by natural processes”. -
Formation Mechanism for Upland Low-Relief Surface Landscapes in the Three Gorges Region, China
remote sensing Article Formation Mechanism for Upland Low-Relief Surface Landscapes in the Three Gorges Region, China Lingyun Lv 1,2, Lunche Wang 1,2,* , Chang’an Li 1,2, Hui Li 1,2 , Xinsheng Wang 3 and Shaoqiang Wang 1,2,4 1 Key Laboratory of Regional Ecology and Environmental Change, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China; [email protected] (L.L.); [email protected] (C.L.); [email protected] (H.L.); [email protected] (S.W.) 2 Hubei Key Laboratory of Critical Zone Evolution, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China 3 Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China; [email protected] 4 Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 9 November 2020; Accepted: 26 November 2020; Published: 27 November 2020 Abstract: Extensive areas with low-relief surfaces that are almost flat surfaces high in the mountain ranges constitute the dominant geomorphic feature of the Three Gorges area. However, their origin remains a matter of debate, and has been interpreted previously as the result of fluvial erosion after peneplain uplift. Here, a new formation mechanism for these low-relief surface landscapes has been proposed, based on the analyses of low-relief surface distribution, swath profiles, χ mapping, river capture landform characteristics, and a numerical analytical model. The results showed that the low-relief surfaces in the Three Gorges area could be divided into higher elevation and lower elevation surfaces, distributed mainly in the highlands between the Yangtze River and Qingjiang River. -
Chapter 41. Canadian Planation Surfaces
Chapter 41 Canadian Planation Surfaces Chapters 36 to 40 summarized information on planation surfaces in the United States, but also included several planation surfaces on the High Plains of south-central Canada. There are numerous planation surfaces in the rest of Canada that are important for understanding the continent wide nature of Flood runoff. Figure 41.1 is a map of the geomorphological regions of Canada, many of which I will be mentioning in this chapter. Since Alaskan geomorphology is generally an extension of northwest Canadian geomorphology, Alaska will be included in this chapter on Canadian planation surfaces. Figure 41.1. The general geomorphological regions of Canada (from Bostock, 1970, p. 12). The Huge Canadian Shield Exhumed Planation Surface The Canadian Shield, west, south, and east of Hudson Bay (Figure 41.1) is a huge dissected planation surface.1,2 However, it is and exhumed planation surface (see Appendix 15). The surface was first planed, covered by sediments that hardened into rock, and then re-eroded 1 Bostock, H.S., 1970. Physiographic subdivisions of Canada. In, Douglas, R.J.W. (editor), Geology and Economic Minerals of Canada, Part A, Geological Survey of Canada, Economic Geology Report 1, Ottawa, Canada, pp. 9–30. 2 Ambrose, J.W., 1964. Exhumed paleoplains of the Precambrian Shield of North America. American Journal of Science 262:817–857. exposing most of the surface. The planation surface on the southeast part of the shield has been documented by Ian Juby,3 summarized in Appendix 18. The evidence for the Canadian Shield being a planation surface is that the surface continues underneath the sedimentary rocks that still remain on parts of the exhumed surface.4 It is also interesting that glaciation only superficially modified the planation surface,4 which is strange if there were 30 or more ice ages during the past 2.5 million years,5 as purported by uniformitarian scientists. -
Coastal Plain of Georgia
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIBECTOK WATER-SUPPLY PAPER UNDERGROUND WATERS OF THE COASTAL PLAIN OF GEORGIA BY L. W. STEPHENSON AND J. 0. VEATCH AND A DISCUSSION OP THE QUALITY OF THE WATERS BY R. B. DOLE Prepared in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Georgia WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1915 CONTENTS. __ Page. Introduction.............................................................. 25 Physiography.............................................................. 26 Cumberland Plateau.................................................... 26 Appalachian Valley.................................................... 27 Appalachian Mountains................................................ 27 Piedmont Plateau..................................................... 27 Coastal Plain........................................................... 28 General features................................................... 28 Physiographic subdivisions......................................... 29 Fall-line Mils................................................. 29 Dougherty plain............................................... 31 Altamaha upland............................................... 32 Southern limesink region...................................... 34 Okefenokee plain.............................................. 35 Satilla coastal lowland ......................................... 36 Minor features..................................................... 38 Terraces...................................................... -
Chapter 51. Does the Weathering Hypothesis Explain Planation
Chapter 51 Does the Weathering Hypothesis Explain Planation Surfaces? Like Davis’s hypothesis, all the other hypotheses of landscape evolution that were developed over a period of more than 100 years, have been found wanting (see Appendix 19). Only one major hypothesis remains, the weathering hypothesis, also called etchplanation. It attempts to explain flat or nearly flat surfaces. The Weathering Hypothesis Weathering is defined as the in situ alteration and/or disintegration of rocks at or near the earth’s surface.1 Erosion is, “The general process or the group of processes whereby the materials of the Earth’s crust are loosened, dissolved, or worn away, and simultaneously moved from one place to another…2 Denudation is, “The sum of the processes that result in the wearing away or progressive lowering the Earth’s surface by various natural agencies, which include weathering, erosion, mass wasting, and transportion…”3 Denudation has a wider meaning than erosion and also includes the physical removal of the eroded or weathered material from the area and not just the movement of material a little. The weathering hypothesis was first proposed by J.D. Falconer in 1911.4 It was especially emphasized and developed by Wayland in the early 1930s and by Bailey Willis in his study of East African plateaus and rift valleys.5 The hypothesis was advanced by Büdel during the third quarter of the twentieth century, primarily to account for tropical erosion and planation surfaces.6 The weathering hypothesis seems to be the only one that is seriously considered by geomorphologists, but that of course does not mean it is correct. -
Long-Term Landscape Evolution, Genesis, Distribution and Age
GONDWANA PALEOLANDSCAPES: LONG-TERM LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION, GENESIS, DISTRIBUTION AND AGE Jorge RABASSA 1,2 (1) Laboratorio de Cuaternario y Geomorfología, CADIC-CONICET, Bernardo Houssay 200, 9410. Tierra del Fuego, Argentina. E-mail: [email protected] (2) Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia - San Juan Bosco, Sede Ushuaia. “Let the landscape teach me” Lester C. King, personal letter to Charles Higgins, 1958. “While the geologist may often be in error, the Earth is never wrong” Lester C. King, 1967. Introduction The Concepts of Gondwana Paleolandscapes and Long-Term Landscape Evolution: Previous Works Gondwana Paleolandscapes: Basic Scientific Concepts Related The Evolution of the Gondwana Cratonic Areas During the Mesozoic Mesozoic and Paleogene Climates Granite Deep Weathering Passive-Margin Geomorphology Duricrusts: Ferricretes, Silcretes, Calcretes A Brief and Preliminary Review of Gondwana Landscapes and Other Ancient Paleolandscapes in the Southern Hemisphere and Other Parts of the World Discussion and Conclusions Acknowledgements Bibliographic References ABSTRACT – The concept of “Gondwana Landscape” was defined by Fairbridge (1968) as an “ancestral landscape” composed of “series of once-planed remnants” that “record traces of older planation” episodes, during the “late Mesozoic (locally Jurassic or Cretaceous)”. This has been called the “Gondwana cyclic land surface” in the continents of the southern hemisphere, occurring extensively in Australia, Southern Africa and the cratonic areas of South America. Remnants of these surfaces are found also in India, in the northern hemisphere and it is assumed they have been preserved in Eastern Antarctica, underneath the Antarctic ice sheet which covers that region with an average thickness of 3,000 meters. These paleolandscapes were generated when the former Gondwana super-continent was still in place and similar tectonic conditions in its drifted fragments have allowed their preservation. -
A Geographic Study of the Tennessee Central Railway: an East-West Transport Route Across the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-1969 A Geographic Study of the Tennessee Central Railway: An East- West Transport Route Across the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee Dennis E. Quillen University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Geography Commons Recommended Citation Quillen, Dennis E., "A Geographic Study of the Tennessee Central Railway: An East-West Transport Route Across the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 1969. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/2782 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Dennis E. Quillen entitled "A Geographic Study of the Tennessee Central Railway: An East-West Transport Route Across the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Science, with a major in Geography. Loyal Durand, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Robert G. Long, William N. Cherry Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Au gust 1, 1969 To the Graduate Council : I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Dennis E. -
Cumberland Plateau Geological History
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Oneida, Tennessee Geology and History of the Cumberland Plateau Geological History Rising over 1000 feet above the region around it, the Cumberland Plateau is a large, flat-topped tableland. Deceptively rugged, the Plateau has often acted as a barrier to man and nature’s attempts to overcome it. The Plateau is characterized by rugged terrain, a moderate climate, and abundant rainfall. Although the soils are typically thin and infertile, the area was once covered by a dense hardwood forest equal to that of the Appalachians less than sixty miles to the east. As a landform, this great plateau reaches from north-central Alabama through Tennessee and Kentucky and Pennsylvania to the western New York border. Geographers call this landform the Appalachian Plateau, although it is known by various names as it passes through the differ ent regions. In Tennessee and Kentucky, it is called the Cumberland Plateau. Within this region, the Cumberland River and its tributaries are formed. A view from any over- look quickly confirms that the area is indeed a plateau. The adjoining ridges are all the same height, presenting a flat horizon. The River Systems The Clear Fork River and the New River come together to form the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River, the third largest tributary to the Cumberland. The Big South Fork watershed drains an area of 1382 square Leatherwood Ford in the evening sun miles primarily in Scott, Fentress, and Morgan counties in Tennessee and Wayne and Overlooks McCreary counties in Kentucky. -
Chapter 14. Wildlife and Forest Communities 341
chapteR 14. Wildlife and Forest Communities 341 Chapter 14. Wildlife and Forest communities Margaret Trani Griep and Beverly Collins1 key FindingS • Hotspot areas for plants of concern are Big Bend National Park; the Apalachicola area of the Southern Gulf Coast; • The South has 1,076 native terrestrial vertebrates: 179 Lake Wales Ridge and the area south of Lake Okeechobee amphibians, 525 birds, 176 mammals, and 196 reptiles. in Peninsular Florida; and coastal counties of North Species richness is highest in the Mid-South (856) and Carolina in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Appalachian- Coastal Plain (733), reflecting both the large area of these Cumberland highlands also contain plants identified by subregions and the diversity of habitats within them. States as species of concern. • The geography of species richness varies by taxa. • Species, including those of conservation concern, are Amphibians flourish in portions of the Piedmont and imperiled by habitat alteration, isolation, introduction of Appalachian-Cumberland highlands and across the Coastal invasive species, environmental pollutants, commercial Plain. Bird richness is highest along the coastal wetlands of development, human disturbance, and exploitation. the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, mammal richness Conditions predicted by the forecasts will magnify these is highest in the Mid-South and Appalachian-Cumberland stressors. Each species varies in its vulnerability to highlands, and reptile richness is highest across the forecasted threats, and these threats vary by subregion. Key southern portion of the region. areas of concern arise where hotspots of vulnerable species • The South has 142 terrestrial vertebrate species coincide with forecasted stressors. considered to be of conservation concern (e.g., global • There are 614 species that are presumed extirpated from conservation status rank of critically imperiled, imperiled, selected States in the South; 64 are terrestrial vertebrates or vulnerable), 77 of which are listed as threatened or and 550 are vascular plants.