Allegheny Plateau

Map of the Allegheny Plateau. The gray line differentiates the glaciated (northern) and unglaciated (southern) sections of the plateau.

The Allegheny Plateau /ˌælᵻˈɡeɪni/ is a large dissected plateau area in western and central New York, northern and western Pennsylvania, northern and western West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. It is divided into the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau and the glaciated Allegheny Plateau.

The plateau extends southward into western West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and Tennessee where it is instead called the Cumberland Plateau.

The plateau terminates in the east at the Allegheny Mountains, which are the highest ridges just west of the Allegheny Front. The Front extends from central Pennsylvania through Maryland and into eastern West Virginia.

The plateau is bordered on the west by glacial till plains in the north, generally north of the Ohio River, and the Bluegrass region in the south, generally south of the Ohio River.

Major fault at the dividing line between the Allegheny Plateau and the true Appalachian Mountains in Williamsport, Pennsylvania

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 900 to 1,500 feet (270 to 460 m). By the Allegheny Front, however, elevations may reach well over 4,000 feet (1,200 m), with relief of up to 2,000 feet (610 m).

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

Geology and physiography

Canisteo River Valley from Pinnacle State Park. Glaciation in this area of the plateau removed the sharp relief that is seen in unglaciated areas of the plateau. The line of the distant peaks approximates the level of a peneplain that was uplifted to form the plateau.

The Allegheny Plateau is a physiographic section of the larger Appalachian Plateau province, which in turn is part of the larger Appalachian physiographic division.^[1]

References

External links

• Photographs of the Allegheny Plateau and the Allegheny River watershed region

Coordinates: 41°N 80°W / 41°N 80°W / 41; -80

Subfields of physical geography Biogeography Climatology / Paleoclimatology Coastal geography Edaphology Geomorphology Glaciology Hydrology / Hydrography Landscape ecology Limnology Meteorology Oceanography Palaeogeography Pedology/Soil science Quaternary science

State of New York Albany (capital) Topics Bibliography Demographics Economy Education Geography History Healthcare Museums Music Nickname People Politics Sports Symbols Transportation Visitor attractions Politics Administrative divisions Congressional districts Constitution Elections Government Law Regions Adirondack Mountains Allegheny Plateau Capital District Catskill Mountains Central Region (formerly Central-Leatherstocking) Central New York Champlain Valley New York City Finger Lakes Holland Purchase Hudson Highlands Hudson Valley Long Island Mohawk Valley Niagara Frontier North Country Ridge and Valley Saint Lawrence Seaway Shawangunks Ski country Southern Tier Southtowns Tech Valley Thousand Islands Tug Hill Upstate Western Metro areas Albany / Schenectady / Troy Binghamton Buffalo / Niagara Falls Elmira / Corning Glens Falls Ithaca Kingston New York City Rochester Syracuse Utica / Rome Watertown Counties Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond Rockland Saint Lawrence Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Wyoming Yates Places Cities Towns Indian reservations Villages Census-designated places

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Harrisburg (capital) Topics Index Delegations Government History Geography Geology Law Pennsylvanians State parks Symbols Visitor attractions Society Agriculture Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Gambling Politics Sports Metro areas Altoona Baltimore-Washington Erie Harrisburg–Carlisle Johnstown Lancaster Lebanon Lehigh Valley New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh Reading Scranton‑Wilkes-Barre State College Williamsport York-Hanover Largest cities Allentown Altoona Bethlehem Butler Chester DuBois Easton Erie Greensburg Harrisburg Hazleton Johnstown Lancaster Lebanon McKeesport New Castle Philadelphia Pittsburgh Pottsville Reading Scranton Sunbury Wilkes-Barre Williamsport York Largest municipalities Abington Bensalem Bethel Park Bristol Cheltenham Cranberry Darby Falls Hampden Haverford Hempfield Lower Macungie Lower Makefield Lower Merion Lower Paxton Manheim McCandless Middletown Millcreek Township Monroeville Mount Lebanon Norristown Northampton North Huntingdon Penn Hills Radnor Ridley Ross Shaler Spring State College Tredyffrin Upper Darby Upper Merion Warminster West Chester Whitehall York Township Regions Allegheny Mountains Allegheny National Forest Allegheny Plateau Atlantic Coastal Plain Bald Eagle Valley Blue Ridge Central Coal Region Cumberland Valley Delaware Valley Dutch Country Eastern Endless Mountains Great Valley Mahoning Valley Happy Valley Laurel Highlands Lehigh Valley Main Line Moshannon Valley Nittany Valley Northeastern Northern Tier Northern Northwestern Ohio Valley Oil Region Pennsylvania Highlands Penns Valley Philicon Valley Piedmont Pocono Mountains Ridge and Valley Saucon Valley South Central Southeastern Southern Southwestern Susquehanna Valley Western Wyoming Valley Counties Adams Allegheny Armstrong Beaver Bedford Berks Blair Bradford Bucks Butler Cambria Cameron Carbon Centre Chester Clarion Clearfield Clinton Columbia Crawford Cumberland Dauphin Delaware Elk Erie Fayette Forest Franklin Fulton Greene Huntingdon Indiana Jefferson Juniata Lackawanna Lancaster Lawrence Lebanon Lehigh Luzerne Lycoming McKean Mercer Mifflin Monroe Montgomery Montour Northampton Northumberland Perry Philadelphia Pike Potter Schuylkill Snyder Somerset Sullivan Susquehanna Tioga Union Venango Warren Washington Wayne Westmoreland Wyoming York

State of Ohio Columbus (capital) Topics History Geography People Government Administrative divisions Law Elections Delegations Colleges and universities Visitor attractions Portal Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Sports Regions Allegheny Plateau Appalachian Ohio Black Swamp The Bluegrass Extreme Northwest Ohio Glacial till plains Lake Erie Lake Erie Islands Mahoning Valley Miami Valley Northeast Ohio Northwest Ohio Vacationland Western Reserve Metro areas Akron Canton Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton Findlay-Tiffin Ironton Lima Mansfield Steubenville Toledo Youngstown-Warren Largest cities Akron Canton Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Cuyahoga Falls Dayton Elyria Euclid Hamilton Kettering Lakewood Lorain Mansfield Mentor Middletown Newark Parma Springfield Toledo Youngstown Counties Adams Allen Ashland Ashtabula Athens Auglaize Belmont Brown Butler Carroll Champaign Clark Clermont Clinton Columbiana Coshocton Crawford Cuyahoga Darke Defiance Delaware Erie Fairfield Fayette Franklin Fulton Gallia Geauga Greene Guernsey Hamilton Hancock Hardin Harrison Henry Highland Hocking Holmes Huron Jackson Jefferson Knox Lake Lawrence Licking Logan Lorain Lucas Madison Mahoning Marion Medina Meigs Mercer Miami Monroe Montgomery Morgan Morrow Muskingum Noble Ottawa Paulding Perry Pickaway Pike Portage Preble Putnam Richland Ross Sandusky Scioto Seneca Shelby Stark Summit Trumbull Tuscarawas Union Van Wert Vinton Warren Washington Wayne Williams Wood Wyandot

State of West Virginia Charleston (capital) Topics Cities Towns Villages Census-designated places History Geography Environment People Governors Delegations Colleges and universities Visitor attractions Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Insignia Coat of arms Flag Motto Seal Regions Allegheny Mountains Allegheny Plateau Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area Blue Ridge Charleston Metropolitan Area Cumberland Plateau Cumberland Mountains Eastern Panhandle Huntington Metropolitan Area North-Central West Virginia Northern Panhandle Potomac Highlands Ridge-and-valley Appalachians Shenandoah Valley Southern West Virginia Western West Virginia Metro areas Charleston Huntington Morgantown Martinsburg Parkersburg-Vienna Wheeling Winchester Weirton Largest cities Beckley Charelston Fairmont Huntington Martinsburg Morgantown Parkersburg Wheeling Weirton Counties Barbour Berkeley Boone Braxton Brooke Cabell Calhoun Clay Doddridge Fayette Gilmer Grant Greenbrier Hampshire Hancock Hardy Harrison Jackson Jefferson Kanawha Lewis Lincoln Logan Marion Marshall Mason McDowell Mercer Mineral Mingo Monongalia Monroe Morgan Nicholas Ohio Pendleton Pleasants Pocahontas Preston Putnam Raleigh Randolph Ritchie Roane Summers Taylor Tucker Tyler Upshur Wayne Webster Wetzel Wirt Wood Wyoming

Commonwealth of Kentucky Frankfort (capital) Topics Index Cuisine Environment Geography History Music People Religion Symbols (Seal Flag) Theater Tourism Transportation Visitor attractions Category Index Portal Society Culture Crime Demographics Economy Education Politics Sports Regions Allegheny Plateau The Bluegrass Central Kentucky Cumberland Mountains Cumberland Plateau Eastern Kentucky Coalfield Highland Rim The Knobs Mississippi Plain Northern Kentucky Pennyroyal Plateau The Purchase Ridge-and-Valley South Central Kentucky Tennessee Valley Western Coal Fields 25 largest cities Louisville Lexington Bowling Green Owensboro Covington Hopkinsville Richmond Florence Georgetown Henderson Elizabethtown Nicholasville Jeffersontown Frankfort Paducah Independence Radcliff Ashland Madisonville Winchester Erlanger Murray St. Matthews Fort Thomas Danville Metropolitan areas Ashland Bowling Green Clarksville, TN Elizabethtown Evansville Lexington–Fayette Louisville – Jefferson County Northern Kentucky Owensboro Counties Adair Allen Anderson Ballard Barren Bath Bell Boone Bourbon Boyd Boyle Bracken Breathitt Breckinridge Bullitt Butler Caldwell Calloway Campbell Carlisle Carroll Carter Casey Christian Clark Clay Clinton Crittenden Cumberland Daviess Edmonson Elliott Estill Fayette Fleming Floyd Franklin Fulton Gallatin Garrard Grant Graves Grayson Green Greenup Hancock Hardin Harlan Harrison Hart Henderson Henry Hickman Hopkins Jackson Jefferson Jessamine Johnson Kenton Knott Knox LaRue Laurel Lawrence Lee Leslie Letcher Lewis Lincoln Livingston Logan Lyon Madison Magoffin Marion Marshall Martin Mason McCracken McCreary McLean Meade Menifee Mercer Metcalfe Monroe Montgomery Morgan Muhlenberg Nelson Nicholas Ohio Oldham Owen Owsley Pendleton Perry Pike Powell Pulaski Robertson Rockcastle Rowan Russell Scott Shelby Simpson Spencer Taylor Todd Trigg Trimble Union Warren Washington Wayne Webster Whitley Wolfe Woodford