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Potter County is located in the Appalachian Plateaus of north-central Pennsylvania and contains the headwaters of the Genesee River, the Allegheny River, and the Susquehanna River. Drift of Wisconsin age covers the northeastern part of the county. This study includes a detailed survev of the surficial deposits of the Genesee quadrangle in north-central Potter County and a reconnaissance of the remainder of the county; a soil survey and a botanical survey were carried on concurrently. The region is a deeply dissected plateau having extensive areas of steeply sloping land separated by narrow ridges and valleys; there is very little level land. Near the junction of the three watersheds the uplands rise to altitudes of more than 2,500 feet. The maximum relief in the Susquehanna drainage is more than 1,500 feet; in the Genesee and Allegheny drainage it. is about 800 feet. Valley walls are steep (15° to 30°), and the uplands have gentle slopes (0.5° to 10°). The drainage pattern is trellised. The climate is continental. Temperatures range from about -30° F. to more than 100° F. The average annual precipitation ranges approximately from 34 to 42 inches. Floods may occur at any season of the year. The large volumes of water from rain or melting snow carried by small streams come from springs. There is little precise data on frost in the ground, but it is probable that the ground seldom freezes in forested areas. The soils of Potter County have relatively immature profiles with poorly developed horizons that commonly have many characteristics inherited from their parent materials. At the great soil group level, the zonal soils are divided into Podzol soils and Brown Podzolic soils. Many soils have a high silt content in the upper part of the profile, apparently derived (at least partly) from a mantle of eolian silt. Mos~ of Potter County is covered by second-growth forests consisting of 40to 60-year-old hardwood stands. The present forests growing on slopes and summits are composed approximately of 25 species of trees. The northern hardwood region includes most of the county, with an oak-forest region near the borders, principally along its southern margin. Potter County is underlain by sandstone, siltstone, shale, conglomerate, and minor amounts of coal and calcareous rock that range in age from Late Devonian to Pennsylvanian. These rocks form broad open folds that strike northeast. South of the border of the Wisconsin drift, and possibly at two localities inside the drift border, are scattered remnants of ancient soils (here called paleosol), that were formed in preWisconsin time-probably during the Sangamon interglacial stage. This paleosol ranges in texture from clay loam to silt loam, ranges in color from yellowish red to red, includes a few percent to more than 25 percent of rock fragments, and apparently contains a small percentage of gibbsite and varying amounts of kaolinite. Known thicknesses range from 1 to 33 feet. Paleosol was developed on diverse kinds of parent material, such as till, stratified drift, colluvium, and residuum, at altitudes ranging from a few hundred to 2,400 feet. The climatic conditions under which the paleosol formed are uncertain; however, these ancient soils may record an episode of subtropical climatic conditions during which lateritic soils were formed. Perhaps these soils are analogous to the Red-Yellow Podzolic soils of southeastern United States. Except for one possible remnant, no pre-Wisconsin drift has been recognized in Potter County. The Wisconsin glacial deposits of Potter County belong to either the Iowan or Tazewell substages and are dominantly till with minor amounts of glaciofluvial deposits. Erratics of igneous or metamorphic rock comprise less than 0.1 percent of the total number of rock fragments. The till is slightly weathered to depths ranging from 3 to about 12 feet. The drift border is indefinite and has been drawn at the southern limit of erratics or well-rounded or striated pebbles and is only locally marked by a terminal moraine or by a distinct change in the surficial deposits. The drift border is relatively straight and crosses the Genesee quadrangle in a northwesterly direction with little regard for the major topographic features, thus suggesting that the Wisconsin ice sheet had a relatively straight and steep front. Over most of the unglaciated part of Potter County, the bedrock is concealed beneath rubble that probably was formed during the Iowan or Tazewell substage, almost contemporaneously with the adjacent drift. In general, the rubble is thickest and most extensive within about 10 miles of the drift border, becoming thinner and less continuous farther away. The apparent parallelism between a belt of thick periglacial deposits and the drift border suggests that the deposits result from climatic factors in operation while the Wisconsin ice sheet was nearby. Ancient soil structures or patterned ground occur at, or near, the surface of both the periglacial deposits and the adjacent drift. These ancient soil structures are so similar to modern forms in arctic or alpine environments that they are considered to be the result of vigorous frost action. Many of the structures are believed to be a result of down-slope movement of debris by solifluction, facilitated by a frozen subsoil as much as 10 feet deep. Perennially frozen ground may have been present, but this is not a prerequisite. The periglacial deposits underlie long smooth slopes that extend from ridge crest to valley bottom. Flood plains are absent near the headwaters of many streams, the valley walls forming a V-shaped profile. While frost action was in progress, forests probably were restricted to flood plains, lower slopes, and scattered upland areas. Large parts of the upland were bare or partly covered by tundra vegetation; elsewhere, there were scattered trees but no dense forest.

Surficial geology and geomorphology of Potter County, Pennsylvania