The Schooley peneplain is a peneplain in the eastern Appalachians extending from the US state of New Jersey into Pine Mountain in Kentucky. [1] The peneplain takes name from Schooley's Mountain where it can be appreciated as a flattish surface. The age of formation of the peneplain and its extent have been subjects of a protracted debate. Some 20th century geologists and geographers considered that the peneplain dipped east under the Atlantic Plain as an unconformity underlying Cretaceous sediments. [2] Consequently, they posited an Early Cretaceous or Jurassic age. [2] Various authors, including Douglas Wilson Johnson, have however objected to the equivalence of the peneplain to the unconformity. [2] Since the 2000s, an Oligocene to middle Miocene age has been proposed for the peneplain. [3] According to this last view, the uplift and dissection of the peneplain started in the late Miocene. [3]
Schooley peneplain is one of the four main peneplains identified in the Appalachians, the others being Fall Zone, Harrisburg and Sommerville. [4]
The Schooley peneplain is a peneplain in the eastern Appalachians extending from the US state of New Jersey into Pine Mountain in Kentucky. [1] The peneplain takes name from Schooley's Mountain where it can be appreciated as a flattish surface. The age of formation of the peneplain and its extent have been subjects of a protracted debate. Some 20th century geologists and geographers considered that the peneplain dipped east under the Atlantic Plain as an unconformity underlying Cretaceous sediments. [2] Consequently, they posited an Early Cretaceous or Jurassic age. [2] Various authors, including Douglas Wilson Johnson, have however objected to the equivalence of the peneplain to the unconformity. [2] Since the 2000s, an Oligocene to middle Miocene age has been proposed for the peneplain. [3] According to this last view, the uplift and dissection of the peneplain started in the late Miocene. [3]
Schooley peneplain is one of the four main peneplains identified in the Appalachians, the others being Fall Zone, Harrisburg and Sommerville. [4]