What are the geological regions in Alabama?
Alabama spans three continental geologic provinces as defined by the United States Geological Survey, the Atlantic Plain, Appalachian Highlands, and Interior Plains.
What is the Piedmont region in Alabama known for?
The Piedmont contains the oldest surface rocks in the state. The outcrops here are metamorphic rocks formed from sedimentary rocks that were molten by tremendous heat and pressure to form slate, mica schist, quartzite, gneiss, phyllite, amphibolite, and marble (Lacefield, 2000; Mettee et al., 1996).
How was Piedmont formed?
This mountain system is the result of tectonic activity that took place during the Paleozoic era, between 543 and 245 million years ago. Since that time, the mountains have been continuously eroding, and their deep roots slowly rising in compensation as the overlying rocks are removed.
What rocks are in the Piedmont?
The metamorphic rocks are primarily schist and gneiss, and the igneous rocks are granites, commonly slightly metamorphosed. Structural basins, the result of horst-and-graben faulting, are filled with Mesozoic sediments and are commonly called ‘Triassic-Jurassic basins.
What are the five major geographic provinces of Alabama?
Alabama is divided into five hydrogeologic provinces: the East Gulf Coastal Plain, Piedmont Upland, Valley and Ridge, Cumberland Plateau, and Highland Rim.
Which Alabama city is in the Piedmont region?
Piedmont is a city in Calhoun and Cherokee counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,878 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area….Piedmont, Alabama.
| Piedmont | |
|---|---|
| • Land | 9.82 sq mi (25.45 km2) |
| • Water | 0.10 sq mi (0.27 km2) |
| Elevation | 702 ft (214 m) |
| Population (2020) |
What is the Piedmont region of Alabama?
Piedmont means foot (pied) of the mountain (mont). The Piedmont Plateau region extends from East Central Alabama into Maryland and Pennsylvania between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. These soils are some of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere.
What is Piedmont geology?
A piedmont is an area at the base of a mountain or mountain range. The word piedmont comes from the Italian words pied and monte, which mean “foot” and “hill.” Piedmont lakes and piedmont glaciers, for example, are simply lakes and glaciers located at the foot, or base, of mountains.
What are three facts about the Piedmont region?
The Piedmont Region is a plateau which lies between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Upper Coastal Plains. Piedmont takes up about 30 percent of the state. It is the second-largest region in the state with Coastal Plain being the first. The capital of Georgia (Atlanta) is also located in this region.
What is the topography of the Piedmont region?
rolling hills
The topography of the Piedmont is primarily rolling hills, composed mostly of metamorphic rock that is uniform in its resistance to erosion. Therefore no ridges stand out in particular from differential weathering.
Is the Highland Rim is part of the Piedmont region?
Terms in this set (15) Occupies most of northern Alabama, has mountains that range from 400 feet to over 1,000 feet above sea level, and contains Highland Rim. Divided into Cumberland Plateau, Piedmont Region, Ridge and Valley Region, and Highland Rim.
What are the geologic regions of Alabama?
Geology of Alabama. Alabama spans three continental geologic provinces as defined by the United States Geological Survey, the Atlantic Plain, Appalachian Highlands, and Interior Plains. The Geological Survey of Alabama breaks these provinces down into more specific physiographic provinces.
Hereafter called the Piedmont Upland, it is one of Alabama’s five physiographic sections, each of which is recognized by its pattern of relief features and landforms and which differ significantly from those of adjacent sections. It occupies about 9 percent of the state [see Figure 1].
What type of rocks are found in the northern Piedmont?
The Northern Piedmont Upland is underlain by slate, quartzite, phyllite, marble, gneiss, and schist, and the rugged nature and high elevations of the northwestern part of the upland are caused by varying rates of erosion of these rock types.
When were the first scientific reports of Alabama’s geology made?
The first scientific reports of Alabama’s geology were made during field studies by R. T. Brumby in the late 1830s and Sir Charles Lyell in the early 1840s. Michael Tuomey, appointed state geologist in 1847, completed a Geological Map of Alabama and in 1849 and published the first of two comprehensive reports on…