Upstate New York is known for its beautiful natural features, ranging from pristine mountain wilderness to the lapping shores of the lapping shores of the Finger Lakes to the deep canyons of the glacial Glens. Of all the designated parks, the Adirondacks stands out as the most unique. It not only includes almost all of the natural features of the surrounding state, but also has people living within its borders. For myself as a mountain climber, the most distinct feature of the Adirondacks I always take advantage of are the high peaks of the Adirondacks. Though these mountains are particularly similar in size and level of protection to those in the Catskill Park in the southeastern corner of the state, they have very different geologic origins.
The Catskills are the sedimentary remnants the Acadian Orogeny, and show evidence of carving by glacial ice and water erosion (Bradley, 1983; USGS). While 98 peaks in the Catskills rise above 3,000 feet, Big Slide stands above them all at 4,180 feet. On the other hand, the Adirondacks are metemorphic rocks formed during the Grenville Orogeny and pushed to the surface possibly by a hotspot. Like the Catskills, its northern sibling was also carved by glaciers, however the rock composing the Adirondacks is much harder than that of the Catskills, and is much harder to erode. Due to this, the Adirondacks reach higher in elevation, with 46 of the peaks rising above 4,000 feet. Mount Marcy is this park's highest peak, towering above its neighbors at 5,344 feet (lakeplacid.com). These regions are barely a few hundred miles apart and both look similar, yet their geologic history is anything but.
Both the Adirondacks and the Catskills were historically logged, but now this practice only continues in the Adirondacks on privately-owned land. Though the rate and intensity of logging has severely decreased since its heyday in the 19th century, it is still prevalent among the 3.4 million acres of privately owned land (visitadirondacks.com). In 1892, 2.6 million acres of north woods land was converted into a forest preserve, preventing a single tree from ever being cut down and dragged out of the woods ever again (DEC ADK). Compared to the Adirondacks, the entire Catskill State Park is designated as forest preserve land, encompassing 287,500 acres (DEC Catskill). Regardless of the lack of resource extraction, both sites attract a large amount of visitors every year interested in the vast recreational opportunities provided. The Catskill and Adirondack parks are the only two regions in the state designated as forest preserves, and in total protect 4.7 million acres of land from deforestation and degradation (DEC Preserve). Though the Catskills are much smaller than the Adirondacks, both preserves serve important purposes to their local communities through economic benefits from recreation, as well as to the environment through vast ecosystem services.
Sources:
"Geology of National Parks." Geology of National Parks.
U.S. Geological Society, 20 Jan. 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
<http://3dparks.wr.usgs.gov/nyc/valleyandridge/catskills.htm>.
Bradley, Dwight C. "Tectonics of the Acadian Orogeny in New England and Adjacent Canada." The Journal of Geology 91.4 (1983): 381-400. JSTOR. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
"Catskill Forest Preserve." Catskill Forest Preserve. New York State Department of Conservation, 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/5265.html>.
"Lake Placid, Adirondacks." Mount Marcy.
Lake Placid/Essex County Convention and Visitors Bureau, n.d. Web. 10
Apr. 2015. <http://www.lakeplacid.com/do/hiking/mount-marcy>.
"The Adirondack Park." Visit Adirondacks.
Adirondack Regional Tourism Council, 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
<http://visitadirondacks.com/about/mountains/adirondack-park>.
"Adirondack Forest Preserve." New York State
Department of Conservation, 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/5263.html>.
"New York's Forest Preserve." New York
State Department of Conservation, 2015. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/4960.html>.
No comments:
Post a Comment