Landscapes

Uplifting vs. Leveling

Humid vs. Arid Climates

Plain

Plateau

Mountain

New York State Landscape Regions

Guided Notes

Landscape Regions

1) What is a landscape?

• Landscape: general shape of a land surface

1) What is a landscape?

• Landscapes form from the interaction of the local bedrock, geologic factors, and the climate of an area.

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2) What are the geologic factors influence landscape regions?�

• Uplifting forces: forces that push Earth’s crust to a higher elevation

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• Faulting, folding, or tilting of bedrock; volcanic action

2) What are the geologic factors influence landscape regions?�

• Leveling forces: forces that decrease the elevation of Earth’s crust

• Erosion by water, wind, glaciers, and gravity.

3) How does climate affect landscape?

• Humid climate: rounded slopes; high amounts of vegetation

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• New York has a moist climate.

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Papau, New Guinea

3) How does climate affect landscape?

• Arid climate: steep, angular slopes; exposed bedrock

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• The Grand Canyon in Arizona is located in an arid climate.

Grand Canyon, Arizona

How the Grand Canyon was Formed

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• Checkpoint – Landscapes

1. The graph below shows the average change in the elevation of a mountain range over time.

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According to the graph, the rate of uplifting was greater than the rate of erosion during which geologic time period?

a. Silurian

b. Devonian

c. Carboniferous

d. Permian

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• Checkpoint – Landscapes

2. The diagram below shows two landscapes, A and B.

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The difference in appearance of these two landscapes was caused mainly by a difference in the

a. climate

b. amount of uplift

c. rock type

d. rock structure

• Checkpoint – Landscapes

3. The sequence of bedrock cross sections below represents the same landscape region over a period of geologic time.

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This sequence best represents

a. an arid region that experienced mostly uplifting forces

b. an arid region that experienced mostly leveling forces

c. a humid region that experienced mostly uplifting forces

d. a humid region that experienced mostly leveling forces

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4) How are landscapes classified?

• Landscape Regions: There are three types of landscape regions based upon bedrock type and relief.

• Relief: the change in elevation between the highest and lowest points.

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4) How are landscapes classified?

Plains

(Lowlands)

Lowest relief

Often is flat layers of sedimentary rock

Plateau

(Uplands)

High relief

Relatively flat due to erosion

May have stream valleys

Horizontal layers of sedimentary rock

Mountain

(Highlands)

Greatest relief

High peaks & deep valleys

Faulted and tilted structure

Metamorphic and igneous rocks

Landscape Regions

All Three Landscape Regions in 1 Picture

Mountain

Plateau

Plain

• Checkpoint – Landscape Regions: Identify the landscapes on the diagram below.

A: ____________

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B: ____________

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C: ____________

Plateau

Plain

Mountain

5) What are the different landscape regions in New York State?

• To determine true landscape of an area, you must look underneath the surface.

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Example: The Catskills of New York State is often referred to as mountains because of the high relief and deep valleys, as shown on the diagram below. But, if you look at the bedrock in this area, you would find horizontal, sedimentary layers. Therefore, The Catskills is a ________________________ landscape region.

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plateau

5) What are the different landscape regions in New York State?

• ESRT page 2: The Generalized Landscape Regions map shows the landscape regions of New York State. New York State has all three types of landscapes: mountains, plateaus, & plains.

Different types of landscapes are separated by the solid black lines which are MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC PROVINCE BOUNDARIES.

Each major geographic province boundary is separated into smaller LANDSCAPE REGIONS shown by the dashed lines.

• Checkpoint – ESRT page 2: In the table below, list the landscape regions that are found in New York State. Classify each landscape region under the correct category.

1. Erie-Ontario Lowlands
2. St. Lawrence Lowlands
3. Champlain Lowlands
4. Hudson-Mohawk Lowlands
5. Atlantic Coastal Plain
6. Newark Lowlands

1. Alleghany Plateau
2. The Catskills
3. Tug Hill Plateau

1. Manhattan Prong

2. Hudson Highlands

3. Taconic Mountains

4. Adirondack Mountains

5. Grenville Province

5) What are the different landscape regions in New York State?

• ESRT page 2 can be used along with the ESRT page 3 (Generalized Bedrock Geology map) also in the Reference Tables to locate cities, surface bedrock type, surface bedrock age, and other geographic features on the landscape map.

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Rock Types

Age

Map Pattern

• Checkpoint – ESRT pages 2 and 3: Use ESRT pages 2 and 3 to determine the name of the landscape region for each of the following cities in New York State.

Allegheny Plateau

Devonian

Sedimentary

Adirondack Mountains

Middle Proterozoic

Metamorphic

St.Lawrence Lowlands

Ordovician

Sedimentary

Atlantic Coastal Plain

Cretaceous and Pleistocene

Sedimentary

Erie-Ontario Lowlands

Silurian

Sedimentary

• Checkpoint – New York State Landscape Regions

1. Which two New York State landscape regions have surface bedrock that formed during the Middle Proterozoic Era?

a. Hudson Highlands and Adirondack Mountains

b. Erie-Ontario Lowlands and Atlantic Coastal Plain

c. Tug Hill Plateau and Allegheny Plateau

d. Newark Lowlands and Manhattan Prong

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• Checkpoint – New York State Landscape Regions

2. Which types of surface bedrock are most likely found near Jamestown, New York?

a. slate and marble

b. quartzite and granite

c. shale and sandstone

d. schist and gneiss

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• Checkpoint – New York State Landscape Regions

3. If you took an overland journey from Binghamton, New York, to Oswego, New York, what general change would you see in the topographic relief as you travel northward?

The relief would decrease from Binghamton (plateau) to Oswego (plain).

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• Checkpoint – New York State Landscape Regions

Base your answers to questions 4 and 5 on the geologic cross section shown below and on your knowledge of Earth science. The cross section shows the surface of a landscape region in the southwestern United States and indicates the age, type, and thickness of the bedrock.

4. State one characteristic, other than the horizontal bedrock structure, shown in the cross section that supports the idea that this region is correctly classified as a plateau landscape.

High relief

• Checkpoint – New York State Landscape Regions

Base your answers to questions 4 and 5 on the geologic cross section shown below and on your knowledge of Earth science. The cross section shows the surface of a landscape region in the southwestern United States and indicates the age, type, and thickness of the bedrock.

5. Which New York State landscape region has surface bedrock of the same geologic age as the surface bedrock shown in this cross section?

Erie-Ontario Lowlands

Landscapes Picture Quiz

How does the bedrock indicate this is a mountain?

Tilted bedrock,

High relief

= Mountain

How does the bedrock indicate this is a plateau?

Horizontal bedrock,

high relief

= Plateau

This is a picture of the Hempstead Plains (1920’s). What is the bedrock like here?

Flat bedrock,

Low relief

This is the same location almost 100 years later. What is the bedrock like here?

Flat bedrock,

Low relief

(Still a Plain)

What type of landscape region is this, New York’s Catskill “Mountains”?

Not mountains!

The Catskills have horizontal, sedimentary bedrock,

High relief

=

Plateau

What type of climate is this region located in? How do you know

Humid climate because of the rounded slopes and high amount of vegetation

What type of climate is this region located in? How do you know

Arid climate because of the steep slopes and exposed bedrock