Paha (landform)

[1] In Iowa, paha are prominent hills that are oriented from northwest to southeast, formed during the period of mass erosion that developed the Iowan surface, and they are considered erosional remnants since they often preserve buried soils.

Pahas in Iowa contain thick deposits of Wisconsinan-aged Peoria Formation loess and the Farmdale Paleosol.

[4] and they are also predominately found downwind of river valleys carrying Wisconsian outwash, i.e. sources of eolian sediment.

[6] The gentle topography served as a surface for eolian sediment to travel across the area, similar to the Nebraska Sandhills.

Saltating sand deflated loess on the uplands where not blocked upwind by a topographic barrier such as steep-walled stream valleys or vertical bedrock outcrops.

In Heidelberg, Germany, for example, they form NNW-ESE aligned ridges on a bank on the River Rhine[16] and have been dated to between 40,000 and 34,000 years old.