REGIONAL
TOPOGRAPHY
(3D
DIGITAL RELIEF)
Enlarged
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The Catskill region is bounded rather distinctly on its east side by the Hudson River Valley. Where the mountains rise sharply up out of the valley is referred to as the ‘Eastern Catskills Escarpment’. Technically, the Catskills are not true mountains in the geologic sense because they were not formed by subterranean mountain building processes, but rather formed as a plateau dissected from above by streams. From the eastern Catskills escarpment, the mountains grade west into the Alleghany Plateau, which stretches across the southern tier of New York State; the Catskill mountains are the highest portion of that plateau. The Catskills, of course, do not appear flat like some plateaus, because streams have been cutting deep valleys down through the land for millions of years. Before the last ice age, Catskill valleys were much deeper and steeper than they are today, however now those sharp ravines are less pronounced because thick deposits of glacial till have smoothed out the topography of the valleys.
If you look closely at the topography of the Catskill high peaks region, you will notice that one mountain, Panther Mountain, actually has a circular shape that is unique to the Catskills. Geologists hypothesize that Panther Mountain was the site of meteor impact during the Devonian Period, which was then covered by the sedimentary deposits which make up the Catskill Mountains. Weak joints around the rim of the circular impact area then allowed streams to carve out circular valleys, today’s Esopus and Woodland Creek valleys, around Panther Mountain.
The elevation of the City of Kingston, adjacent to the Catskills along the Hudson River, is approximately 50 feet (15 meters) above sea level; the summit of Slide Mountain, the highest of the Catskill peaks, is 4,180 feet (1,274 meters) above sea level. There are 98 Catskill peaks above 3,000 feet elevation, 35 peaks above 3500 feet elevation, and two peaks above 4,000 feet elevation. All of the Catskill peaks are forested; none are above the tree-line.
