The Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line marks the Piedmont's eastern boundary with the Coastal Plain. To the west, it is mostly bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, the easternmost range of the main Appalachians. The width of the Piedmont varies, being quite narrow above the Delaware River but nearly 300 miles (475 km) wide in North Carolina. The Piedmont's area is approximately 80,000 square miles (210,000 km2).[2]
The French word Piedmont comes from the Italian: Piemonte, meaning "foothill",[3] ultimately from Latin "pedemontium", meaning "at the foot of the mountains", similar to the name of the Italian region of Piedmont (Piemonte), abutting the Alps.
The surface relief of the Piedmont is characterized by relatively low, rolling hills with heights above sea level between 200 feet (50 m) and 800 feet to 1,000 feet (250 m to 300 m). Its geology is complex, with numerous rock formations of different materials and ages intermingled with one another. Essentially, the Piedmont is the remnant of several ancient mountain chains that have since been eroded. Geologists have identified at least five separate events which have led to sediment deposition, including the Grenville orogeny (the collision of continents that created the supercontinentRodinia) and the Appalachian orogeny during the formation of Pangaea. The last major event in the history of the Piedmont was the break-up of Pangaea, when North America and Africa began to separate. Large basins formed from the rifting and were subsequently filled by the sediments shed from the surrounding higher ground. The series of Mesozoic basins is almost entirely located inside the Piedmont region.
Soils and farming
Piedmont soils are generally clay-like (Ultisols) and moderately fertile. In some areas they have suffered from erosion and over-cropping, particularly in the South where cotton was historically the chief crop. In the central Piedmont region of North Carolina and Virginia, tobacco is the main crop, while in the north region there is more diversity, including orchards, dairying, and general farming.[2]
Music
The portion of the Piedmont region in the southern United States is closely associated with the Piedmont blues, a style of blues music that originated there in the late 19th century. According to the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society, most Piedmont blues musicians came from Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. During the Great Migration, African Americans migrated to the Piedmont. With the Appalachian Mountains to the west, those who might otherwise have spread into rural areas stayed in cities and were thus exposed to a broader mixture of music than those in, for example, the rural Mississippi delta. Thus, Piedmont blues was influenced by many types of music such as ragtime, country, and popular songs — styles that had comparatively less influence on blues music in other regions.[4]
Many major cities are located on the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, the eastern boundary of the Piedmont. (In Georgia and Alabama, where the Piedmont runs mostly east to west, the fall line is its southern boundary.) The fall line, where the land rises abruptly from the coastal plain, marks the limit of navigability on many major rivers, so inland ports sprang up along it.
piedmont, united, states, cities, canada, united, states, named, piedmont, piedmont, disambiguation, populated, places, other, uses, piedmont, disambiguation, piedmont, plateau, region, located, eastern, united, states, situated, between, atlantic, plain, main. For cities in Canada and the United States named Piedmont see Piedmont disambiguation Populated places For other uses see Piedmont disambiguation The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the Eastern United States It is situated between the Atlantic Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains stretching from New York in the north to central Alabama in the south The Piedmont Province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division which consists of the Gettysburg Newark Lowlands the Piedmont Upland and the Piedmont Lowlands sections 1 The James River winds its way among Piedmont hills in central Virginia Most of the hills in the Piedmont region are smaller than these The Piedmont Plateau looking east from Rocky Ridge in Maryland c 1898 The Piedmont plateau region shaded The Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line marks the Piedmont s eastern boundary with the Coastal Plain To the west it is mostly bounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains the easternmost range of the main Appalachians The width of the Piedmont varies being quite narrow above the Delaware River but nearly 300 miles 475 km wide in North Carolina The Piedmont s area is approximately 80 000 square miles 210 000 km2 2 The French word Piedmont comes from the Italian Piemonte meaning foothill 3 ultimately from Latin pedemontium meaning at the foot of the mountains similar to the name of the Italian region of Piedmont Piemonte abutting the Alps Contents 1 Geology 2 Soils and farming 3 Music 4 Cities 5 See also 6 References 7 Further reading 8 External linksGeology EditThe surface relief of the Piedmont is characterized by relatively low rolling hills with heights above sea level between 200 feet 50 m and 800 feet to 1 000 feet 250 m to 300 m Its geology is complex with numerous rock formations of different materials and ages intermingled with one another Essentially the Piedmont is the remnant of several ancient mountain chains that have since been eroded Geologists have identified at least five separate events which have led to sediment deposition including the Grenville orogeny the collision of continents that created the supercontinent Rodinia and the Appalachian orogeny during the formation of Pangaea The last major event in the history of the Piedmont was the break up of Pangaea when North America and Africa began to separate Large basins formed from the rifting and were subsequently filled by the sediments shed from the surrounding higher ground The series of Mesozoic basins is almost entirely located inside the Piedmont region Soils and farming EditPiedmont soils are generally clay like Ultisols and moderately fertile In some areas they have suffered from erosion and over cropping particularly in the South where cotton was historically the chief crop In the central Piedmont region of North Carolina and Virginia tobacco is the main crop while in the north region there is more diversity including orchards dairying and general farming 2 Music EditThe portion of the Piedmont region in the southern United States is closely associated with the Piedmont blues a style of blues music that originated there in the late 19th century According to the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society most Piedmont blues musicians came from Virginia North and South Carolina and Georgia During the Great Migration African Americans migrated to the Piedmont With the Appalachian Mountains to the west those who might otherwise have spread into rural areas stayed in cities and were thus exposed to a broader mixture of music than those in for example the rural Mississippi delta Thus Piedmont blues was influenced by many types of music such as ragtime country and popular songs styles that had comparatively less influence on blues music in other regions 4 Cities EditSee also Piedmont Atlantic megaregion Many major cities are located on the Atlantic Seaboard fall line the eastern boundary of the Piedmont In Georgia and Alabama where the Piedmont runs mostly east to west the fall line is its southern boundary The fall line where the land rises abruptly from the coastal plain marks the limit of navigability on many major rivers so inland ports sprang up along it Within the Piedmont region itself there are several areas of urban concentration the largest being the Philadelphia metropolitan area in Pennsylvania and New Jersey The Piedmont cuts Maryland in half covering the Baltimore Washington metropolitan area In Virginia the Greater Richmond metropolitan area is the largest urban concentration In North Carolina the Piedmont Crescent includes several metropolitan clusters such as Charlotte metropolitan area the Piedmont Triad and the Research Triangle Other notable areas include the Greenville Spartanburg Anderson SC Combined Statistical Area in South Carolina and the Atlanta metropolitan area in Georgia See also EditCecil soil Piedmont Atlantic Piedmont region of Virginia Interstate 85References Edit Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U S U S Geological Survey Retrieved December 6 2007 a b Piedmont Homework Help and Textbook Solutions bartleby The Columbia Gazetteer of North America 2000 Archived from the original on March 10 2005 Retrieved December 9 2007 Definition of piedmont Dictionary com www dictionary com http piedmontblues org Piedmont Blues Preservation SocietyFurther reading EditGodfrey Michael A 1997 Field Guide to the Piedmont Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press ISBN 0 8078 4671 6 External links Edit Wikisource has the text of The New Student s Reference Work article about Piedmont Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History Piedmont Plain New International Encyclopedia 1905 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Piedmont United States amp oldid 1146241600, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
