Journal des sciences de la Terre et du changement climatique

Abstrait

Origin of a megascale-size elongated polje, other karst landforms and non-karst landforms in Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA

Michael Iannicelli

New constructive revelations arise after a controversy erupts concerning a hypothesis by Clausen [1], in which the current study proposes a counter thesis that will ultimately invalidate his hypothesis. This is because atypical landforms identified here such as an elongated polje, nested poljes and uvalas besides typical landforms, all within the Piedmont physiographic province in Chester County, Pennsylvania (PA), USA, were claimed by Clausen [1] to have originated due to a speculative, paleo-glacial ice margin and paleo-flooding. The current study considers that his hypothesis is not based on documented proof, but rather, only on unsubstantiated conjecture. Thus, the aim of the current study is to establish a feasible resolvement to the landforms’ origin based on factual evidence. New revelations are ascertained here about some of these landforms being related to karst processes including influences by tectonics and structure. The other landforms misinterpreted by Clausen [1] are unrelated to karst but were formed due to tectonics, structure and / or particular, geomorphological processes. The previously-mentioned, elongated polje is assigned here to Chester Valley in Chester County, PA which is a mega-scale landform encapsulating most of the landforms discussed in the current study.