Warmup: Use the worksheet to complete the task. Discuss and answer the following questions: write down your responses. What created many of the physical landforms in New York State? What bodies of water connect New Yorkers with each others and other Americans? Where do you think most New Yorkers live? Explain your answer

To understand and to appreciate the geography of New York State, you first must know something about the physical landscape. The location of our lakes, rivers, mountains, and coastal lowlands has determined the pattern of settlement in the state, as well as history and cultural development.

Questions to answer: What can the landscape of New York tell us about its past? How does geography impact how New Yorkers live? Why do New Yorkers live where they do?

A-1 Most of New York State’s foundation is sedimentary rocks: sandstone, shale, limestone, and conglomerate. These rocks are made of very thick deposits of various material formed at the bottom of water hundreds of millions of years ago; the resulting rock layers are visible in many places – such as the Niagara Gorge, seen to the right.

A-2 Sandstone: A clue to our past. Sandstone is a sedimentary rock made up mainly of sand-size (1/16 to 2 millimeter in diameter) debris made from the breakdown of larger rocks. Environments where you can find large amounts of this debris include beaches, deserts, flood plains and deltas.

A-3 Limestone: A clue to our past. Limestone is a sedimentary rock made up of the mineral “calcite.” It most commonly forms in clear, warm, shallow waters. It is usually an organic sedimentary rock that forms from the combination of shell, coral, algal and other debris. It can also be formed by the precipitation, such as rain, sleet, or hail, hitting calcium carbonate from lake or ocean water.

Up until 8000 years ago, the Ice Age covered New York with glaciers about one to two miles thick across almost all of the state. These ice sheets grew and shrunk as the weather changed, causing glacial erosion. This created the basins that filled and became the Great Lakes (and the hundreds of smaller lakes in NY) and carved and rounded many of the mountain ranges.

When the glaciers finally receded for good, they left behind deposits of rocks and dirt filling many valleys with rich, fertile soil.

B-1 There are several places, however, that show a different geologic past. Most of New York City and the Hudson Highlands, for example, have exposures of igneous and metamorphic rocks. This tells us that these parts of the state had a violent history of volcanism and colliding tectonic plates.

B-2 At one time there were mountains thousands of feet high, but they have eroded down to their roots.

B-3 The skyscrapers of Manhattan are anchored in these ancient mountain cores. The soil on the island of Manhattan is perfect for building skyscrapers. In midtown Manhattan, BEDROCK is only about 10 feet or 3 meters deep. However, at the location of the Twin Towers in the lower part of Manhattan BEDROCK is about 100 ft or 30 meters deep.

C-1 Generalized Bedrock Geology of New York.

What to consider: What minerals would be found in the soil around the New York City region? What would this do to the soil? Which regions around New York State would have the best fertile soil?

C-2 Let’s examine the highlands of New York. The highland regions stand out very clearly. What color are they? There are three different mountainous regions: The Adirondacks (in Northeast New York) The Allegheny Plateau/ Catskills (along the southern border with Pennsylvania), The Taconic Mountains/ Hudson Highlands (along the border with New England).

C-3 These form natural barriers for transportation and settlement. However, these barriers of mountains are breached by some very important lowlands, that form a giant sideways “T”. What color are they on the map? Where do most New Yorkers live? How do you know this?

What is the land around us like? Summary What is the land around us like?