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Allegheny Plateau

 
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Allegheny Plateau
 
 
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The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau
Dissected plateau

A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been uplifted, then severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, Metamorphic rock, extensive Geological fault, or magmatic activity that accompanies oro...
 area in western and central New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, northern and western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
, northern West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
, and eastern Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
. It is divided into the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau
Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau

The Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau is located in an arc around southeastern Ohio into western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This area is a dissected plateau, characterized by sandstone, shale, and many coal seams....
 and the glaciated Allegheny Plateau
Glaciated Allegheny Plateau

The Glaciated Allegheny Plateau is that portion of the Allegheny Plateau that lies within the area covered by the last glaciation. As a result, this area of the Allegheny Plateau has lower relief and more gentle slopes than the relatively rugged Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau....
.

The plateau extends southward into western West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
, eastern Kentucky
Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
 and Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
 where it is instead called the Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau

The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia ....
.

The plateau terminates in the east at the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range — informally, the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States and Canada....
, which are the highest ridges just west of the Allegheny Front
Allegheny Front

The Allegheny Front is a portion of the escarpment that delineates the eastern edge of the Appalachian Plateau and the higher ranges of the Allegheny Mountains, separating them from the lower Alleghenies to the east....
. The front extends from central Pennsylvania into eastern West Virginia.

The plateau is bordered on the west by glacial till plains in the north, generally north of the Ohio River
Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles long and is located in the eastern United States....
, and the Bluegrass region
Bluegrass region

The Bluegrass Region is a region of the United States, mostly in northern Kentucky, containing a majority of the state's population. The region is centered on , with other major metropolitan areas including and , as it extends into southern Ohio....
 in the south, generally south of the Ohio River. Elevations vary greatly.






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The Allegheny Plateau is a large dissected plateau
Dissected plateau

A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been uplifted, then severely eroded so that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, Metamorphic rock, extensive Geological fault, or magmatic activity that accompanies oro...
 area in western and central New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
, northern and western Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....
, northern West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
, and eastern Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
. It is divided into the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau
Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau

The Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau is located in an arc around southeastern Ohio into western Pennsylvania and West Virginia. This area is a dissected plateau, characterized by sandstone, shale, and many coal seams....
 and the glaciated Allegheny Plateau
Glaciated Allegheny Plateau

The Glaciated Allegheny Plateau is that portion of the Allegheny Plateau that lies within the area covered by the last glaciation. As a result, this area of the Allegheny Plateau has lower relief and more gentle slopes than the relatively rugged Unglaciated Allegheny Plateau....
.

The plateau extends southward into western West Virginia
West Virginia

West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....
, eastern Kentucky
Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....
 and Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
 where it is instead called the Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau

The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia ....
.

The plateau terminates in the east at the Allegheny Mountains
Allegheny Mountains

The Allegheny Mountain Range — informally, the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States and Canada....
, which are the highest ridges just west of the Allegheny Front
Allegheny Front

The Allegheny Front is a portion of the escarpment that delineates the eastern edge of the Appalachian Plateau and the higher ranges of the Allegheny Mountains, separating them from the lower Alleghenies to the east....
. The front extends from central Pennsylvania into eastern West Virginia.

The plateau is bordered on the west by glacial till plains in the north, generally north of the Ohio River
Ohio River

The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. It is approximately 981 miles long and is located in the eastern United States....
, and the Bluegrass region
Bluegrass region

The Bluegrass Region is a region of the United States, mostly in northern Kentucky, containing a majority of the state's population. The region is centered on , with other major metropolitan areas including and , as it extends into southern Ohio....
 in the south, generally south of the Ohio River.
Junction Fault 0112
Elevations vary greatly. In the glaciated Allegheny Plateau, relief may only reach one hundred feet or less. In the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau in southeastern Ohio and westernmost West Virginia, relief is typically in the range of two hundred to four hundred feet. Absolute highest elevations in this area are often in the range of . By the Allegheny Front, however, elevations may reach well over , with relief of up to .

One of the more notable geologic areas within the Allegheny Plateau is the Hocking Hills region of southeast Ohio
Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....
.

Geology and physiography

Canisteo Valley 1453
The Allegheny Plateau is a physiographic section
Physiographic regions of the world

The physiographic regions of the world are a means of defining the Earth's landforms into distinct regions based upon Nevin Fenneman's classic three-tiered approach of divisions, provinces and sections, in 1916, which although they date from the mid 1910s, are still considered basically valid, and were the basis for similar classifications of...
 of the larger Appalachian Plateau
Appalachian Plateau

The Appalachian Plateau is the western part of the Appalachian mountains, stretching from New York to Georgia and Alabama. The plateau is a second level United States physiographic region....
 province, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian
Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains or , often called the Appalachians, are a vast mountain range in eastern North America. Definitions vary on the precise boundaries of the Appalachians....
 physiographic division.

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