Structural Analysis of Catawissa Quadrangle, Columbia County, Pennsylvania
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Chad Pritchard
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
May 2025
End Date
May 2025
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Geosciences
Abstract
Catawissa Mountain within Columbia County, Pennsylvania is a part of a much large system of mountains called the Appalachian Mountains. Though little more than hills today, the Appalachian Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in the Americas, dating back to after the separation of the supercontinent, Pangea. This presentation is about the structure interpretations of the Catawissa 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, located in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, including fold analysis of the SW trending Catawissa Syncline, formed from Appalachian fold-thrust belt. These analyses are to decipher how the mountain formed from the surrounding regional tectonics and the timeframe of when the folding occurred.
The main rock types in the formations include sandstone, shale, limestone, and a small amount of chert and conglomerates. The main feature of the landscape is a large syncline with parasitic folds in the landscape, which occurred after the Pennsylvanian period. The Catawissa Syncline has an axial plane of 075, 66S, a hinge line of 03, 076, and an interlimb angle of 179, making it gently inclined and a gentle fold. The syncline’s axial plane is near perpendicular to fold-thrust belt forces, which would place the fold being formed between 470 to 240 million years ago by the Alleghanian orogeny in the Permian (Sak et al, 2012).
Recommended Citation
Woodworth, Kylee M., "Structural Analysis of Catawissa Quadrangle, Columbia County, Pennsylvania" (2025). 2025 Symposium. 3.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2025/ps_2025/p1_2025/3
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Structural Analysis of Catawissa Quadrangle, Columbia County, Pennsylvania
PUB NCR
Catawissa Mountain within Columbia County, Pennsylvania is a part of a much large system of mountains called the Appalachian Mountains. Though little more than hills today, the Appalachian Mountains are some of the oldest mountains in the Americas, dating back to after the separation of the supercontinent, Pangea. This presentation is about the structure interpretations of the Catawissa 7.5 Minute Quadrangle, located in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, including fold analysis of the SW trending Catawissa Syncline, formed from Appalachian fold-thrust belt. These analyses are to decipher how the mountain formed from the surrounding regional tectonics and the timeframe of when the folding occurred.
The main rock types in the formations include sandstone, shale, limestone, and a small amount of chert and conglomerates. The main feature of the landscape is a large syncline with parasitic folds in the landscape, which occurred after the Pennsylvanian period. The Catawissa Syncline has an axial plane of 075, 66S, a hinge line of 03, 076, and an interlimb angle of 179, making it gently inclined and a gentle fold. The syncline’s axial plane is near perpendicular to fold-thrust belt forces, which would place the fold being formed between 470 to 240 million years ago by the Alleghanian orogeny in the Permian (Sak et al, 2012).
