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Geo 201: Physiographic Provinces Of Pennsylvania

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Nikita Shah Geo 201 – Homework 1 Physiographic Provinces of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania consists of 6 Physiographic Provinces, namely, (1) The Atlantic Coastal Plain Province, (2) The Appalachian Plateau Province, (3) The Ridge and Valley Province, (4) The Piedmont Province, (5) The New England Province and (6) The Central Lowlands Province. Each province has its own geology and particular type of landscape which plays a very important role in the lives of the people living in these regions. For this assignment, I am supposed to describe the geologic history of Pennsylvania’s most important provinces, i.e. the first 4 provinces. The state of Pennsylvania mostly consists of Sedimentary rocks which were deposited during the Paleozoic Era. Pennsylvania …show more content…

It also spans over south-eastern regions of Delaware and Bucks County. This province showcases a flat land with sandy soil. The coastal plain was formed as a result of erosion and deposition by rivers – it was formed by the continuous rise and fall of the ancient ocean waters. The Cenozoic sediments found here were deposited in multiple layers over the course of 150 million years. The presence of marine shells and diatoms in these sediments tell the Geologists that these layers were formed under the sea. The eroding Appalachian Mountains contributed as a major source of sediments. The rivers of the past carried down all the eroded mountain particles and settled it over the coastal …show more content…

It consists of the state’s most unique landscapes – strangely long, tapered and almost parallel ridges and valleys, all mingling over water gap formations. The province extends from the center towards New Jersey (north-eastward) and into Maryland (south-westward). The province’s ridges and valleys are made up of Sedimentary rocks from the Paleozoic Era. Metamorphosed Proterozoic volcanic rock (~575 million years old) is also found in some ridges of the South Mountain sector of the province. The sediments were originally deposited in a horizontal manner, but then these rocks were subjected to a high amount of heat and pressure during the Alleghanian orogeny, which resulted in them being folded and angular. The erosion of sediments over the years have formed a very distinct landform – valleys have been formed over areas of shale and limestone (softer rocks) and ridges have been formed in the areas of sandstone (harder rock). This Province is divided into 7 sectors: South Mountain, Great Valley, Blue Mountain, Anthracite Upland, Anthracite Valley, Susquehanna Lowland and Appalachian

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