Landscapes of New York

3 Major Classifications: What are landscapes? 3 Major Classifications: Mountains Plains / Lowlands Plateaus / Uplands

New York has all three! Notice the Catskills are part of a plateau, and are not really mountains

Mountains / Highlands At least 300 meters above the surrounding land. Created by a tectonic collision between two landmasses (Orogeny). Characterized by distorted rock structures (metamorphic bedrock): a result of the pressures applied during collision.

View of high peaks region from top of Whiteface Mt.

Plains / Lowlands Large areas of flat land at low elevations. Lots of gravel, sand and clay. HOME SWEET HOME!

Plateau / Uplands Large areas of flat land at high elevation. Usually flat, horizontal, sedimentary rock structures.

Check your note sheet now Landscapes Mountains Plateaus Plains

Landforms are the result of the interaction of tectonic forces and the processes of weathering, erosion, and deposition.

What tectonic events and surface processes were occurring during these times?

Adirondack High Peaks

Correlate page 2 to page 3 of your ESRT

What was happening in NY during the Middle Proterozoic?

Correlate pages 2 & 3 to pages 8 & 9.

View of high peaks region from top of Whiteface Mt.

View of high peaks region from top of Whiteface Mt.

Observation tower and weather station at the top of Whiteface Mountain.

No horizontal layering – blocky, chunky, jointed metamorphic rock. Sharp arrete ridges and glacial cirque on Whiteface Mt.

Isolated garnet crystals like this one, tell us the rock has been subjected to a lot of heat and pressure (metamorphism). Whiteface anorthosite (a rock composed mostly of plagioclase feldspar) with a large crystal of red garnet (left of lens cap).

Anorthosite; composed of large crystals of labradorite feldspar (another clue of metamorphism). Anorthosite composed of large crystals of labradorite feldspar, near Tupper Lake, NY.

Distorted bedrock structure – result of compression forces during the collision of landmasses that created the supercontinent that came before Pangea.

Letchworth Gorge

Correlate page 2 to page 3 of your ESRT

What was happening in NY during the Devonian?

Correlate pages 2 & 3 to pages 8 & 9.

During the Devonian the western parts of NY are underwater During the Devonian the western parts of NY are underwater. The Acadian orogeny occurs mostly to the North (Maine, Newfoundland, Greenland, etc…). The rising of those mountains produced a lot of erosion of the softer surface sedimentary rocks and the Catskill delta was formed.

Is this a true mountainous region?

Elevated sedimentary rocks being worn down by running water View of Middle Falls, Letchworth State Park.

Watkins Glen

These and other marine fossils tell us that the area was once covered by a shallow sea. Trace fossils in Upper Devonian marine siltstone, Watkins Glen.

Watkins Glen

Sedimentary rocks, at fairly high elevations, being worn down by running water Watkins Glen

Take Us Home! What NYS Landscape do we live in?

Hudson-Mohawk Lowlands

Shawangunk ridge viewed from Minnewaska State Park.

Cross section from Hudson River to Catskill Mts.

Notice the layering in the rocks Shawangunk conglomerate in cliffs near Lake Mohonk.

Conglomerate rock from the Catskills Conglomerate rock from the Catskills. The Catskills are made of sedimentary rocks, not metamorphic rocks!

Long Island

Correlate page 2 to page 3 of your ESRT

Correlate pages 2 & 3 to pages 8 & 9.

Caumsett State Park, Lloyd’s Neck, LI Pleistocene Sands & Gravels Cretaceous clays exposed at Caumsett State Park Cretaceous Clay

Loess Glacial till Glacial deposits exposed in beach cliff at Caumsett State Park