Isn't it the other way around? Ususlly the smaller rounded mountains like
out East are OLDER and thus more worn down? Our "mountains" here in
Wisconsin, I've heard, had peaks higher than those in the Rockies, but
they lost their tops to glaciers over the years. May be an urban legend,
though....

Wouldn't that be a "rural legend"? :-)

I've always been fascinated by seeing the old "mountain ranges" as you fly
over Midwestern farmland at sunset. Here in Iowa it's easy to fly over
literally hundreds of square miles of cultivated land, broken only by the
road grid and some farm buildings. At this time of year, when the sunlight
seems exceptionally severe, and with the sunlight at the extreme angle of
sunset, you can see the remnants of gigantic ridges and long, rambling
ranges lurking just beneath the surface of that 18-inch-deep black soil.

Of course, it helps that all the snow is gone, for the moment.

This is a seldom-seen (and never, to my knowledge, discussed) sight,
probably because seeing it is so rare. Most of the year, it's completely
invisible beneath the snow, corn and soybeans, and they're only visible for
a few minutes as the sun goes down -- but it's really something to see when
the land is barren, as it is now.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"