The Piedmont is a
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
region located in the
Eastern United States. It is situated between the
Atlantic coastal plain and the main
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The ...
, stretching from
New York in the north to central
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
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.
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 Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virg ...
, 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
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
. The Piedmont's area is approximately .
The French word ''Piedmont'' comes from the it, Piemonte, meaning "
foothill", ultimately from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
"pedemontium", meaning "at the foot of the mountains", similar to the name of the
Italian region of
Piedmont (''Piemonte''), abutting the
Alps
The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
.
Geology
The surface relief of the Piedmont is characterized by relatively low, rolling hills with heights above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardis ...
between 200 feet (50 m) and 800 feet to 1,000 feet (250 m to 300 m). Its
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern 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
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand ...
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
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
and
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
began to separate. Large
basins
Basin may refer to:
Geography and geology
* Depression (geology)
** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones
** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow
** Drainage basin (hydrology), a ...
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
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay pa ...
-like (
Ultisols) and moderately fertile. In some areas they have suffered from
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...
and over-cropping, particularly in the South where
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
was historically the chief crop. In the central Piedmont region of North Carolina and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
,
tobacco is the main crop, while in the north region there is more diversity, including
orchards,
dairying, and general
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is use ...
ing.
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.
[http://piedmontblues.org/ Piedmont Blues Preservation Society]
Cities
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
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
. The Piedmont cuts
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
in half, covering the
Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. In
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
, the
Greater Richmond metropolitan area is the largest urban concentration. In North Carolina, the
Piedmont Crescent
The Piedmont Crescent, also known as the Piedmont Urban Crescent, is a large, polycentric urbanized region in the U.S. state of North Carolina that forms the northern section of the rapidly developing Piedmont Atlantic megalopolis (or "megareg ...
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
*
Cecil (soil)
*
Piedmont Atlantic
*
Piedmont region of Virginia
The Piedmont region of Virginia is a part of the greater Piedmont physiographic region which stretches from the falls of the Potomac, Rappahannock, and James Rivers to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The region runs across the middle of the state from ...
*
Interstate 85
References
Further reading
*
External links
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History*
{{authority control
Regions of the United States
Regions of North Carolina
Regions of South Carolina
Regions of Virginia
Geology of Alabama
Geology of New Jersey
Geology of Pennsylvania
Geology of Delaware
Geology of Georgia (U.S. state)
Geology of Maryland
Geology of Virginia
Geology of North Carolina
Geology of South Carolina
Geology of Washington, D.C.
Physiographic provinces