Geography

The Chautauqua Drumlin Field encompasses an area of roughly 2,500 sq. km and spans from northwestern Pennsylvania into southwestern New York State, where more than 750 drumlins have been identified (Saha, 2010). The portion of Chautauqua Drumlin Field, as studied for this fieldwork, is located in northwestern Pennsylvania within the Northwestern Glaciated Allegheny Plateau physiographic province. This physiographic province contains numerous broad and rounded undulating hills of varying topographic relief, dissected by long smooth valleys; the majority of which trend northwest-to-southeast at approximately 150 degrees. Valley floors are typically comprised of wetlands, except in areas occupied by dwellings and infrastructure. Elevation ranges from 900 to 2,200 feet above sea level. Local drainage patterns are dendritic, and the many tributaries typically drain to the north towards Lake Erie.

Site Location

The dense number of drumlins within this region made it particularly suitable for field study, as drumlins in this region are well documented, mapped, and accessible by roadway further making it ideal for field observation and study. The primary sites visited were 2.5 miles north, and 0.5 miles east of Wattsburg, Pennsylvania in Venango Township, Erie County. Numerous locations were visited along Kimball Road, Macedonia Road, Raymond Road, and Morgan Road – all of which surround PA State Games Lands Number 191. Additionally, multiple sites were visited along Interstate 89, which provided excellent views of the long axes of particular drumlins. Interstate 89 provided particularly good views of the landscape, where there is a clearly defined and visible boundary that separates the Central Lowlands physiographic province and Lake Erie to the north.

Briefly, the Central Lowlands has an elevation of 570 feet at Lake Erie and rises to 1,000 feet towards the south. This province consists of a series of delicate low-relief ridges that trend north-east-southwest and gently dip to the north and west towards Lake Erie. Ridges in this vicinity are primarily comprised of unconsolidated material (e.g. sand and gravel). At one time, the ridge bordering Lake Erie gently sloped northwest into the lake; however, erosion of the shoreline has changed the lake-land interface and subsequently moved to the southeast where a visible, adjacent bluff is visible today (PADNRC, n.d.).     

Map showing town of Little Hope, Pennsylvania in broad view. The Chautauqua Drumlin Field extends southwest-to-northeast throughout this region and into western New York State. Map acquired from Google Earth.

Map of drumlin sites. Note Kimball Road runs east-to-west on bottom of image and Raymond Road runs east-to-west on top center of image. Site has been outlined with solid cyan line.
 

Physiographic map of Pennsylvania. Note the two physiographic provines visited on this trip: 1) Northwestern Glaciated Plateau and the Central Lowland Province. Map acquired from Wikimedia Commons. Web. Accessed May 11, 2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology_of_Pennsylvania

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Webpage presentation for ES 546 Field Geomorphology, Emporia State University 2016.  By Corey Miller, Graduate Student.