Romano - 279
Landscape Regions
1. Landscape regions are identified by their underlying bedrock structure and elevation.
Fill in the chart with the appropriate features of each type of landscape.
Elevation
Bedrock Type and
Structure
Relief
(difference between highest
and lowest elevations)
Plains
Plateaus
Mountains
low elevations
high(er) elevations
high elevations
horizontal layers of
sedimentary rocks
horizontal layers of
sedimentary rocks
deformed rock structures
faulted and folded
metamorphic rocks
low relief
moderate relief
high relief
(elevation doesn’t change much
throughout the landscape)
(evident differences between
high and low areas)
(large change in elevation between
high peaks and low valleys)
2. The Catskills have sometimes been misrepresented as being “mountains” when actually they are part of a different
landscape region. Which New York State landscape region are the Catskills a part of? What must be true of the
underlying bedrock structure of the Catskills?
3. The Generalized Bedrock of New York State map has a key in the lower left corner of the page. The different types
of bedrock are listed in geologic order. The lowest rock symbols represent the oldest rocks while the symbols at the
top of the key represent the youngest rocks.
a. For the most part, what type of rock (igneous, sedimentary, or metamorphic),
makes up most of the surface bedrock NY?
sedimentary
b. Which landscape region consists of primarily Silurian age bedrock?
Erie-Ontario Lowlands
c. In which landscape region is our state capital situated?
Hudson-Mohawk Lowlands
Romano - 280
4. Name one New York landscape region that would have great relief? Adirondack Mountains or Taconic Mountains
5. What is the name of two rocks that would be exposed in surface bedrock of New York City? quartzite, dolostone, marble, schist
6. Which type of landscape region is located at 43o N and 77o W?
lowlands (plains) – Erie-Ontario Lowlands
7. Long Island doesn’t have bedrock underneath it. What does the ESRT say about the composition of the land under L.I.?
weakly consolidated to unconsolidated gravels, sands, and clays (basically … loose soil not really solid bedrock)
8. Fill in the chart below with the appropriate information.
City or Landscape Feature
Name of
Landscape Region
Type of Surface
Bedrock Exposed
(Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic)
Geologic Period Surface
Bedrock Formed During
A
Mt. Marcy
Adirondack Mountains
Metamorphic
Middle Proterozoic
B
Plattsburgh
Champlain Lowlands
Sedimentary
Ordovician
C
The Finger Lakes
Allegheny Plateau
Sedimentary
Devonian
D
Syracuse
Erie-Ontario Lowlands
Sedimentary
Silurian
9. In an area of crustal activity, the rate of uplift is 20 centimeters per hundred years and the average rate of erosion is 8
centimeters per hundred years. The elevation of this area is generally
(1) decreasing
(2) increasing
(3) remaining the same
10. Which feature would most likely indicate the boundary between two landscape regions?
(1) deposits of unsorted sediments adjacent to polished and scratched bedrock
(2) a sharp change in elevation between two different adjoining bedrock structures
(3) a large stream flowing down a long V-shaped valley
(4) bedrock containing two distinctly different fossil types
11. During which period of geologic history was the surface bedrock of the Catskills formed?
(1) Cambrian
(3) Devonian
(2) Pleistocene
(4) Triassic
12. Which sequence shows the order in which landscape regions are crossed as an airplane flies in a straight course
from Albany, New York, to Massena, New York?
(1) plateau  plain  mountain
(3) plain  mountain  plain
(2) plateau  mountain  plain
(4) mountain  plain  plateau
13. In which New York State landscape region would one find metamorphic surface bedrock?
(1) Adirondack Mountains
(3) Allegheny Plateau
(2) Hudson-Mohawk Lowlands
(4) Tug Hill Plateau