The Great Plains

Physical Geography• Topography

– Elevation rises gently from east to west– Southern half unvaried topography– Northern half characterized by “badlands”

Physical features of the Great Plains

Prairie Potholes

Physical Geography

• Precipitation– Most results from air mass interaction– Anywhere from 10-40 inches annually;

decreases from east to west– About 75% of the precipitation occurs April

through August– Major droughts occur vigesimally (20 yr cycle)

• 1890s, 1910s, 1930s, 1950s, and 1970s

Precipitation Variability

Physical Geography

• Temperatures– Extremes in temperatures because of

continentality– Steppe (B), Continental (D) and Humid sub-

tropical (C) climates– Fluctuations increase from south to north– Northern Texas has over 240 frost free days

each year; Canada’s prairies less than 90

Physical Geography

Climate varies greatly in the Great Plains

Physical Geography

• Winds: a mixed blessing– Among the highest velocities in North

America in late spring and summer• Ensures maximum efficiency for windmills

• High rates of evapotranspiration can minimize the precipitation effects

WIND POWER“Certainty Rating of the Wind Resource”

Physical Geography

• Chinooks

• Blizzards– Occur when cold polar air masses push south

along the Rockies; can last for several days

• Tornadoes– Far more tornadoes annually than any other

comparable area in the world– Parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas

encounter 200 – 300 per year

Tornado Frequency

Physical Geography

• Vegetation–Tall and denser grass in the East,

shorter and relatively sparser in the West

–Intricate root systems, difficult to plow• “Bonanza teams” required to break sod

Physical Geography

• Hydrology– Great rivers, but

supply strained– Use of aquifer

Historical Settlement

• Plains Indians– Limited pre-European occupation

– Buffalo (bison) hunting primary activity

– Semi-permanent settlements along streams

– Greatly improved their mobility once the early Spanish explorers left behind horses

Historical Settlement

• Early Problem Areas– Average annual precipitation < than East– Variable precipitation– Violent storms– Winter blizzards; snowdrifts– The hot, dry winds carried away topsoil– Sparse natural water supply to support tree

growth = no wood for building, fuel, fencing, etc.

– Ground difficult to plow

Historical Settlement• Settlement initially halted along eastern

margins

• Permanent settlement initially inspired by the Homestead Act (1863)– Gave 160 acres of land free to each settler

• 1867-1885: ranching was a viable alternative

• Late 1870s: barbed wire, lumber, and windmills helped to overcome environmental constraints

Historical SettlementMigration patterns:

• Chain migration• Naming of locations

Aging in the Great Plains

Depopulation by US County

Percent elderly by US County

Political Economy

• Agriculture: Boom and Bust– Technology paves the way– Water laws– Droughts– Dust Bowl (1930s)

Agriculture

• Wheat Shipment Patterns:– Canada:

• In East, to Winnipeg; then Thunder Bay

• In the West, Vancouver by rail then sea

– US• Across the Great Lakes or down the Mississippi

River

Agriculture

• Key Spatial Processes– Migrant Labor

• Not to be confused with migrant workers who harvest crops in other regions

• Comprise large crews that use numerous combines and trucks

• Travel from Texas in early June and follow the wheat harvest north into the Prairie Provinces

• ~four months total work

Agriculture

• Key Spatial Processes– Sidewalk Farmers:

• Live in town and travel to their various acreages nearby

– Suitcase Farmers:• Live far from their fields and only visit them

occasionally

• Other Crops…

Energy Resources

• Panhandle Field of Northwest Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas– World’s leading supplier of natural gas– All three are major petroleum producers,

along with Wyoming and Alberta

• Coal is abundant in Wyoming– Lignite, a brownish, soft coal is also readily

available in North Dakota

Typical Plains EconomyLincoln, Kansas

Between Hays and Manhattan, KS

Canadian Great Plains

Winnipeg, ManitobaEdmonton, Alberta

Calgary, Alberta

Reading & Discussion

• Reading: Kansas Like a Pancake

Geographers Frank and Deborah Popper of Rutgers University think large areas of the Plains should be allowed to revert to their condition prior to the arrival of Europeans—replete with large herds of bison and perhaps a few Native Americans leading traditional lifestyles. That means no more agricultural production as we know it. How might this be accomplished? Should it?

Related Books• Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. Vintage.

– Stirring true-life tale about one of the most ghastly murders in the Great Plains. Not for the faint of heart, but VERY vivid landscape description.

• Cather, Willa. 1913. O Pioneers! Boston: Houghton Mifflin.– Classic novel about rural Nebraska settlement in the late 1800s

and early 1900s• Shortridge, James R. 2004. Cities on the Plains: The

Evolution of Urban Kansas. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas– A chronicle of the founding and growth of Kansas cities from 1850

up to the present, showing how the state’s hierarchy of cities emerged from a complex series of promotional strategies

• Wishart, David J., ed. 2004. Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.– A groundbreaking reference book on the Great Plains with entries

by 1316 authors on topics such as the region’s images and icons, climate, politics, historical development, and folklore

WebSources

• Geologic History of the Great Plains:http://www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu/govdocs/text/greatplains/text.html

• Agricultural Economy:http://www.iisd.org/agri/

• Early Novels about the Great Plains:http://www.willacather.org/