features such as cirques, in the high parts of the mountains,
at Raton Mesa and Mesa de Maya between 8 and 2 million
of America Bulletin, v. 83, no. Spanish Peaks in left distance.
Shonkin Sag, north of the Highwood
buried divide that separates the large Williston basin on the
by the Missouri River and its tributaries. 11). fresh water, an absolute necessity in these plains. part by differences in hardness of the rock layers, has been
formerly deposited.
30). The
years, when there was little uplift of the mountains and,
why, we must examine some of the earlier geologic
Memorial Stadium, University of Nebraska Cornhuskers.
South Dakota—similarly have shaped the landscape. to the east. channels wind across the dead-ice moraine and the older, less
It dates to 22 million years before present.
Geologic History of Scotts Bluff National Monument (EC-3): 26 pp., size 8.5" x 11". plains for more than 60 million years, building up a huge
Dawson and Denver Formations in the Denver area, and the
mountains. the country in 1805-6, the Great Plains was the testing
Cenozoic strata (yellow and tan) cover most of the western two-thirds of the state. southern High Plains, New Mexico and Colorado: Geological Society
Those traveling by wagon used Robidoux Pass in the early years because the pass at Scotts Bluff was not fit for wagons. This study evaluated decadal-scale changes of nitrate concentrations in groundwater samples collected by the USGS National Water-Quality Assessment Program from 495 wells in 24 well networks across the USA in predominantly agricultural areas. sunshine in this area, which lies mostly between 2,000 and
Tile drain in eastern Nebraska equipped with monitoring instruments.
A gently sloping scarp, several hundred feet
Oil fields are common east of Artesia and Carlsbad,
it at about 7,350 feet, nearly 1,500 feet higher than Colorado
by the waters of the Pecos and the Rio Grande; the seemingly
and silt. marked by hogback ridges and intervening valleys, continue
River.
are along the base of the Mescalero escarpment
volume for the 7th Congress of the International Association for
taken place and river channels had been firmly established,
of the High Plains rocks near that scarp, separated from the
Southern High Plains, south of Littlefield, Tex.
that loom so awesomely ahead. 45
Rivers in North Dakota also joined a stream that flowed
Colorado and removed great volumes of sediment.
Beyond the limits reached by the ice of the continental glaciers,
near-hurricane velocities, have whipped fine material from
Mountains, near Great Falls, the Bearpaws south of Havre,
The sandstones of the Monroe Creek –Harrison Formation contain 25 – 50 percent silic glass shards and an additional 25 to 40 percent crystal and lithic pyroclastic detritus.
Mescalero escarpment separates the Pecos Valley from the
So often maligned as a drab, featureless area, the
Roosevelt National Memorial Park are some of the best
intricate carving by thousands of small streams of water produces
escarpment (fig. blanket of glacially transported and deposited rock debris,
Volcanism has continued intermittently, and the
33
caves, such as the Caverns of Sonora, southwest of
such as those in the foreground, are common. In the Great Lakes
has cut a deep canyon along the northern part of the
[Italic page numbers indicate major references], A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z, LANDFORMS OF TODAY—The surface features of the Great Plains, Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, Landforms of today—The surface features of the Great Plains. Figure 8.—Progressive southeastward expansion of areas covered
lush vegetation provided ample food for the hordes of three-horned
Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.
its journey to the Rio Grande in a steep-walled canyon
limestone layers and entrenched themselves in steep-walled
about 5,200 feet at the east end, some 35 miles to the east.
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480 26
0000000015 00000 n
rounded hills after leaving the Appalachians; the rolling
Mexico. 4, p. 557-578.
the northeast corner of the Southern High Plains, a huge oil
Valley, extending to the Rio Grande and the Coastal Plain, is
Valley, and the Edwards Plateau all were outlined by streams
This huge cinder cone, which erupted between
north and the Pecos Valley on the south, volcanic vents,
bodies long before the streams began downcutting and
The peaks of
The
therefore, little deposition on the plains.
of the Geological Survey—including C. R. Dunrud,
4). Earlier advances moved farthest south; the later advances
features? When the last continental glacier stood near its maximum
landforms of the section are mainly the result of differences
system that excavated deeply into the accumulated
In
high and mostly covered by glacial deposits (referred to collectively
Please contact Marisa Lubeck or Jason Lambrecht to coordinate. Today’s traveler, who has less time for contemplation,
The eroded edges of these upturned layers have been eroded
and the Ohio Rivers; they smoothed the contours and
Survey. mountainous masses and flat-topped buttes and are entrenched
The National Water Information System (NWIS) web application provides access to real-time and historical surface-water, groundwater, water-quality, and water-use data collected at approximately 1.5 million sites across all 50 states. the surrounding land surface. mat. These glaciers and their deposits modified the
125 miles long and 65 miles wide (fig.
rather than high peaks and spires, on the old rocks of the
product of stream dissection. streams are the most conspicuous features of the landscape,
Horses, camels,
that have affected both walls of the valley.
this region we call the Great Plains have a similar early
The sharp rims of the Dakota Sandstone
The Platte River of south-central Nebraska was studied at three scales to place the river in its geological context and to trace its evolution through geologic time. meandering courses of a type that is usually found only in
The sequence consists of Pliocene-, Pleistocene-, and Holocene-age strata that document the deposition of a veneer of alluvium by late Tertiary and Quaternary streams intermixed with and overlain by wind-blown loess. high buttes that are remnants of former interstream divides
21
western part of the continent forced streams, which for 30
on the Great Plains, to change their behavior and
Texas Uplift, erosion has produced a topographic basin,
are sufficiently impressive to be designated as a national park
Melting ice at the front of the glaciers provided large
Typical terrain of unglaciated Missouri Plateau.
Watney et al. Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century. valleys; and ground water dissolved the limestone
began to destroy it—leaving only the High Plains to remind
Pecos Valley section.
0000005306 00000 n
the crest of the divide to north of Castle Rock, resistant
but these valleys become increasingly shallow and disappear
Our citizens being so prone to
Why should such diverse landscapes be
Other potential track-makers that lived at this time included a variety of oreodonts, hyracodontid rhinos, tapirs, small horses, camels, and a variety of carnivores.
The Pecos River, and to a lesser extent the Devils and
Used by permission.
the mountains and volcanoes provided huge quantities
vertical walls of igneous rock that project high above
Great Bend Plains, and the Red Hills.
In a few places, badlands have formed in the Red Hills.
The Ogallala Formation capping the High Plains to
narrower and has steeper walls than the old valley. For most of the half billion years from 570
southern High Plains (fig.
Photograph by R. M. Lindvall, U. S.
24
underlying rocks. 23).
is preserved in a national park. northward into Canada between the Central Lowland and
northern part, the Great Plains is the largely unglaciated
0000001789 00000 n
Other igneous intrusions and volcanic
A total solar eclipse darkened the skies over the United States on Aug. 21, 2017.
Various isopleth and structure maps illustrate the distribution and alluvial architecture of the sedimentary sequence, and support the interpretation of former positions of the Platte River.
Estacado (staked plain).
40
of these agents have played important roles in determining
<>/Border[0 0 0]/Contents(�� \n h t t p s : / / d i g i t a l c o m m o n s . found in the bare southern part. through hogbacks in middle distance. the general level of the plateau, including the Highwood,
Lodge River has cut headward into the southeastern part
their bases. Mo., and followed the Platte across the central part of the
potash. 0000001811 00000 n
International Association for Quaternary Research: Princeton University
of those frontiersmen surely were occupied with the dangers
U. S. Geological Survey.
flanks as the gravel, sand, and mud of streams and rivers. moisture, as indeed it is. rock, some of which reached the surface as volcanic rock. unified whole—the Great Plains?
it extends far to the north into Canada. the country. Oshkosh, a town in the Nebraska Sandhills was a prime location for viewing the eclipse.
Lake, a high divide separates the drainage of the South Platte
A new U.S. Geological Survey publication and model can be applied by multiple entities to better understand flow, quantity, sources and sinks of groundwater in the Northern High Plains Aquifer, which covers approximately 100,000 square miles across Nebraska, …
Minneapolis, Kans., is called “Rock City.” These boulders
compose the landforms and from the landforms themselves.
21). Plains are at high, cliffed, erosional escarpments—the Caprock
~z�p���3y+�t��F_��;���ۓ��[2 Well-formed
Vegetation continued
Some of these valleys have been
whose isotopes provide Earth scientists with an atomic clock. carving the land. landscape of the Great Plains and created the sections we call
(See sketch map, figure 7.) Photograph by I. J. Witkind, U. S. Geological
volcanoes began to appear about 50 million years ago. Gas fields are ubiquitous in much
another, less imposing, forested prominence—the Central
Elsewhere the
The only large areas of sand dunes on the
water, partly covered by glaciers, and blown by winds. An igneous
At the north and east margins
only by the canyon of Carrizo Creek. surface of the land they covered, mostly between the Missouri
Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park, N. Dak.
%PDF-1.7
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Northward for about 100 miles, the
Plains have been incorporated into this narrative, which was
Great Plains is in fact a land of marked contrasts and limitless
either the Ogallala Formation of Miocene age or the Poison
moraines. to the Rocky Mountains and had a continuous supply of
The Canadian
Pleistocene and recent environments of the central Great Plains:
Devils Tower, the
sculpted from this granite at Mount Rushmore National
At the southern end of the Great Plains is
outlined. now consolidated into rock, rest on a floor of very
The east-flowing
But what determines its
River and the West Nueces and Nueces Rivers. draws.
Karst topography is typified by numerous
Colo., Cedar Point forms a west-jutting prow of the High
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