Geology of the Appalachian Plateau

Stretching from Alabama to New York, the Appalachian Plateau physiographic region makes up the northwestern portion of the Appalachian Mountains. It is divided into several sections, including the Allegheny Plateau, Cumberland Plateau, Catskill Mountains and Pocono Mountains. The Allegheny Mountains and Cumberland Mountains serve as a boundary between the Appalachian Plateau and Valley and Ridge physiographic region. Although the region is characterized by areas of high topographic relief (it reaches elevations upwards of 4,000 feet), it is technically not a mountain chain. Instead, it is a deeply dissected sedimentary plateau, carved into its present-day topography by millions of years of erosion. Geologic Background The sedimentary rocks of the Appalachian Plateau share a close geologic story to those of the neighboring Valley and Ridge to the east. Rocks in both regions were deposited in a shallow, marine environment hundreds of million of years ago. Sandstones, limestones and shales formed in horizontal layers, often with distinct boundaries between them. As these sedimentary rocks formed, the African and North American cratons were moving towards each other on a collision course. Volcanic islands and terranes between them sutured onto what is now eastern North America. Africa eventually collided with North America, forming the supercontinent Pangea around 300 million years ago. This massive continent-on-continent collision formed Himalayan-scale mountains while uplifting and pushing the existing sedimentary rock far inland. While the collision uplifted both the Valley and Ridge and Appalachian Plateau, the former took the brunt of the force and therefore experienced the most deformation. The folding and faulting that affected the Valley and Ridge died out underneath the Appalachian Plateau. The Appalachian Plateau has not experienced a major orogenic event in the past 200 million years, so one might assume that the sedimentary rock of the region should have long since eroded down into a flat plain. In actuality, the Appalachian Plateau is home to steep mountains (or rather, dissected plateaus) with relatively high elevations, mass wasting events and deep river gorges, which are all characteristics of an active tectonic area. This is due to a more recent uplift, or rather a rejuvenation, from epeirogenic forces during the Miocene. This means that the Appalachians didnt rise again from a mountain building event, or orogeny, but rather through activity in the mantle or isostatic rebound. As the land rose, streams increased in gradient and velocity and quickly cut through the horizontally-layered sedimentary bedrock, shaping the cliffs, canyons, and gorges that are seen today. Because the rock layers were still horizontally layered on top of each other, and not folded and deformed like in the Valley and Ridge, the streams followed a somewhat random course, resulting in a dendritic stream pattern. Limestones in the Appalachian Plateau often contain different marine fossils, remnants of a time when seas covered the area. Fern fossils may be found in the sandstones and shales. Coal Production During the Carboniferous period, the environment was swampy and hot. The remains of trees and other plants, like ferns and cycads, were preserved as they died and fell into the standing water of the swamp, which lacked the oxygen needed for decomposition. This plant debris accumulated slowly - fifty feet of accumulated plant debris can take thousands of years to form and produce only 5 feet of actual coal - but consistently for millions of years. As with any coal-producing setting, the rates of accumulation were greater than the rates of decomposition. The plant debris continued to stack on top of each other until the bottom layers turned to peat. River deltas carried sediment eroded from the Appalachian Mountains, which had recently uplifted to great heights. This deltaic sediment covered the shallow seas and buried, compacted and heated the peat until it turned into coal. Mountaintop removal, where coal miners literally blow away the top of a mountain to get to the coal underneath, has been practiced in the Appalachian Plateau since the 1970s. First, miles of land are cleared of all vegetation and topsoil. Then, holes are drilled into the mountain and packed with powerful explosives, which when detonated can remove up to 800 feet of the mountains elevation. Heavy machinery digs away the coal and dump the overburden (extra rock and soil) into valleys. Mountaintop removal is catastrophic to the native land and harmful to nearby human populations. A few of its negative consequences include: Complete destruction of wildlife habitats and ecosystemsToxic dust from explosions causing health problems in nearby human populationsAcid mine drainage polluting streams and groundwater, destroying aquatic habitats and ruining drinking waterFailure of tailings dams, flooding large areas of land While federal law requires coal companies to reclaim all land destroyed by mountaintop removal, it is impossible to restore a landscape formed by hundreds of millions of years of unique natural processes. Places to See Cloudland Canyon, Georgia - Located in the extreme northwest corner of Georgia, Cloudland Canyon is an approximately 1,000 foot deep gorge carved out by Sitton Gulch Creek. Hocking Hills, Ohio - This area of high topographic relief, featuring caves, gorges and waterfalls, can be found about an hour southeast of Columbus. The melting of glaciers, which stopped just north of the park, carved away the Blackhand sandstone into the landscape seen today. Kaaterskill Falls, New York - Ignoring a ledge that separates the falls into an upper and lower section, Kaaterskill Falls is the highest waterfall in New York (at 260 feet high). The falls were formed from streams that developed as Pleistocene glaciers retreated from the area. Walls of Jericho, Alabama and Tennessee - This karst formation sits at the Alabama-Tennessee border, one hour northeast of Huntsville and an hour and a half southwest of Chattanooga. The Walls form a large, bowl-shaped amphitheater of limestone rock.

An Analysis of, In Reification and Utopia in Mass...

It is true that manipulation theory sometimes finds a special place in its scheme for those rare cultural objects which can be said to have overt political and social content: thus, 60s protest songs, The Salt of the Earth, Clancey Segals novels or Sol Yuricks, chicano murals, and the San Francisco Mime Troop. This is not the place to raise the complicated problem of political art today, except to say that our business as culture critics requires us to raise it, and to rethink what are still essentially 30s categories in some new and more satisfactory contemporary way. (Jameson 139)I initially read this quote as a praise of political art as so worthy an object of study that its complexities could not be fully addressed within the scope of†¦show more content†¦Any middle class adolescent who frequented Ozzfest or other metal festivals in the 1990s and 2000s is likely aware of System of a Downs Steal This Album, or the lyrics to their politically charged Prison Song. Someone i nterested in hip hop enough to scratch the surface will likely encounter KRS-1s Sound of da Police released in 1993. And Radiohead, now international superstars, have just released their latest album essentially for free, bypassing the music industry entirely. Jameson might respond to me with a question like, yes, but why havent they worked?, expecting an answer affirming their status as commodities which could be subject to his ideology/utopia dialectic. My answer to such a question would be precisely my historical point: its in the works. Jameson cannot escape his own position within consumer capitalism in that it is his choice to perceive a large body of political art as contained within a diluted dialectic that imposes itself upon consumers. Perhaps a radically engaged and tactical patience can be counterpoised against the image of the passive consumer. And besides, this is not to mention the countless DIY zines circulating around Infoshops, in radical circles, and across the hi pster-radical bridge in trendy coffee shops. A nice account of post-60s anarchist praxis can be found in criminologist Jeff Ferrells Tearing Down the Streets: Adventures in Urban Anarchy, where he discusses his own experiences with collectiveShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesbureaucracy and hierarchy The virtuous bureaucracy Modernist themes in organizational design Modernist bureaucracy as a key challenge to organization design Contingency theory and organization design Organization culture as a key theme in organization theory The modernist tradition in organization culture Conclusions: does modernist organization theory still provide challenges for new visions of the organization? 54 54 56 56 56 58 58 59 60 60 63 66 68 69 70 72 74 75 77 81 83 85 87 87 87 89 92 92 94

Diversity in America Free Essays

The information I have interpreted from the United States about diversity has not help me to better over stand the, and relate to other different from the past. I would say that the diversity issue in this country has made me very aware that we as a country have a long way to go when it comes to diversity. The information I have processed and have been taught about diversity in this nation is how to effectively base upon other beliefs and upbringing to deal with biases. We will write a custom essay sample on Diversity in America or any similar topic only for you Order Now The information I have learned in this course that’s been the most insightful were the discussion question and the mix array of answer and point of views was expressed about various topics. This allowed me the opportunity to see first and the differences of opinions and reality. I have learned a great deal about the various struggles of my ethnic group and other ethnic groups during my studies in this class. It’s easy to get polarized in one’s own thought process and experiences without seeking over standing form others experiences who have suffered and victimized by prejudices and discrimination throughout history as well. Such as the Native American and the American Asian, are a small group of minorities who have experience in justice and a lack of acceptances in main stream American. I believe by the year 2050 the United States will have changed look and feel where immigration and demographics are concern. American will have changed significantly whites will no longer be in the majority. The U. S. minority population, currently 30 percent, is expected to exceed 50 percent before 2050. No other advanced country will see such diversity; most of America’s population growth will be among its minorities, as well as in a growing mixed-race population. Latino and Asian populations are expected to nearly triple, and the children of immigrants will become more prominent. Currently in the United States, about 25% of children under age 5 are Hispanic; it is estimated that by 2050, that percentage will be almost 40 percent. Changing patterns of immigration have put the United States on a short road to a population diversity never before experienced by any nation—a population in which all races and ethnicities are part of minority groups that make up a complex whole. Bearing in mind that this nation at the same time, will be growing older; the aging population of baby boomers who are concerned about running out of money before they run out of life and about the increasing cost of health care will have a large impact of the future trends of America. These demographic trends will play out differently in different states and regions, with some areas seeing exploding populations while others experience declining based upon current studies. As America continues to grow more diverse; a huge challenge to overcome is the acceptance and over standing of each individual race and culture that makes up that’s great nation. It’s sad to see, that even today the lines of separation are far divided by hate and a lack of over standing. This lack will have a direct effect on our future and how will communicate and exist with each other. Diversity helps society to grow as individuals and open our minds to different ways of life. When we are exposed to different ways to live, we see how other cultures carry on we are no longer closed to the idea that we are indeed all different in some way, and those differences are beneficial to our changing world. Diversity also promotes more tolerance allowing people the opportunity to see other as a lesson of growth help us to accept other cultures, and even adapt some of their ways within our society. The differences that we have between us can be used to strengthen society as we know it. Diversity allows us the opportunity to learn, grow, understand new ways of living, and experience life to the fullest. Without diversity, we are closed off in our own worlds. But with it, we expand our knowledge and we are no longer ignorant. When you are aware of the differences and embrace them, then you have taken the blind fold off to living differently and you are a better person for it. The key is exposure and using what you learned to increase more tolerance and decrease things such as racism. Moving forward America can foster an environment and commitment of pluralism; teaching through acceptance and engaging with other from who are different. Without any engagement or relationship with one another pluralism can be achieve. We key way to see this happening is through the media. Because the media is known for polarizing people of color in a negative light they could start to report news fairly and accurately. Also changing their advertising and programming approach; without stereotypes and outlandish perceptions. Engagement with other creates a common society for all, diversity as a whole is pluralism plain and simple embracing each other for our differences. Yes, there are some people who still feel threatened by diversity, or even hostile to it. Throughout America history there have been groups that have expressed prejudice and intolerance toward people of color and cultures however as we grow as a nation we need to look forward to the day when all these differences fade away. The United States faces many challenges in diversity of its many people, and there is still a large percent of the population that supports racism and bigotry. If we don’t make these changes we will not be able to move forward in the United States racially and culturally; this is not just a problem with white people, it is a problem facing all the different cultures in the world because racism has many colors, fearing of something new scaring everybody, but with it comes change and I hope that we all could get along in this world and every one occupies. The world and United States has come a long way in battling this war on racism, but it is still has many miles to move ahead before people could see that although different we are all people. The more diverse we become racially and ethnically, the more important it is that we learn to tolerate differences; and also to celebrate what we all have in common. Whether we came to the United States voluntarily or involuntarily, we all choose to live here now. And more people want to live here than anywhere else in the world. How to cite Diversity in America, Papers

Ethical Action for Police Detectives and Criminal -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theEthical Action for Police Detectives and Criminal. Answer: Ethical action by police officer: The present case is based on the ethical dilemma that had been faced by a police officer and what will be his action regarding the ethical issues. It has been mentioned in the code of ethics that every officer is needed to serve the humankind and try to secure the interest of the individuals. It is the utmost duty of the police officer to abide by the constitutional rules. In this case, it has been observed that the police officer has been attached with a criminal and involved himself in the activities of the criminal. It is the primary duty of the police officer to detain the criminal behind the bar and secure the interest of the society. However, in this case, it has been observed that the police officer had fallen into certain ethical dilemmas regarding the detention as he was personally attached with the criminal (Hayes 2015). Certain ethical theories should be applied in this case to determine all the ethical actions made by the police officer in such situation. The theory of Act non-consequentialism can be applied here in this case to rationalize the attachment of the officer with the criminal. As per this theory, the police officer should act like a friend to the criminal as it has been stated that the rules are not able to govern the act of the others (Miller 2014). The theory of consequetialist can be defined as the antonym to the previous theory. It has been stated that the officer should have faced certain consequence in case he wanted to detain the criminal behind the bar. It has been stated under the Code of Ethics that a police officer should have to take reasonable steps regarding the avoidance of conflicts. Therefore, in this case, the police officer should have to take reasonable action for the benefit of the society by maintaining the rules of the code of ethics. Reference: Hayes, S 2015, Criminal Justice Ethics, Routledge, Abingdon Miller, Gordon 2014, Investigative Ethics: Ethics for Police Detectives and Criminal Investigators, John Wiley Sons