Schooley peneplain

The Schooley peneplain is a peneplain in the eastern Appalachians extending from the US state of New Jersey into Pine Mountain in Kentucky.[1] The peneplain takes name from Schooley's Mountain where it can be appreciated as a flattish surface. The age of formation of the peneplain and its extent have been subjects of a protracted debate. Some 20th century geologists and geographers considered that the peneplain dipped east under the Atlantic Plain as an unconformity underlying Cretaceous sediments.[2] Consequently, they posited an Early Cretaceous or Jurassic age.[2] Various authors, including Douglas Wilson Johnson, have however objected to the equivalence of the peneplain to the unconformity.[2] Since the 2000s, an Oligocene to middle Miocene age has been proposed for the peneplain.[3] According to this last view, the uplift and dissection of the peneplain started in the late Miocene.[3]

Schooley peneplain is one of the four main peneplains identified in the Appalachians, the others being Fall Zone, Harrisburg and Sommerville.[4]

References

  1. ^ McFarlan, Arthur C. (2008) [1943]. Chesnut, Don (ed.). "Geology of Kentucky: Outline of Geologic History". Kentucky Paleontological Society.
  2. ^ a b c Stose, George W. (1940). "Age of the Schooley peneplain". American Journal of Science. 238 (7).
  3. ^ a b Stanford, Scott D. (2023). The Schooley peneplain revisited: integrating geomorphology, stratigraphy, sea level, and tectonics (PDF). GSA Connects 2023 Meeting. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania: Geological Society of America. DOI: 10.1130/abs/2023AM-389769. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  4. ^ Sevon, William D.; Potter, Noel; Crowl, Gearge H. (1983). "Appalachian peneplains: An historical review". Earth Sciences History. 2 (2): 156–164. doi:10.17704/eshi.2.2.068421x54v1r7826.


Stub icon

This geology article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.