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The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie,
steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...
, and grassland. It is the southern and main part of the Interior Plains, which also include the tallgrass prairie between the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...
and Appalachian Plateau, and the
Taiga Plains The Taiga Plain Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone that covers most of the western Northwest Territories, extending to northwest Alberta, northeast British Columbia and sli ...
and Boreal Plains ecozones in
Northern Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...
. The term Western Plains is used to describe the ecoregion of the Great Plains, or alternatively the western portion of the Great Plains. The Great Plains lies across both Central United States and Western Canada, encompassing: * The entirety of the U.S. states of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota; * Parts of the U.S. states of
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, Texas and Wyoming; * The southern portions of the
Canadian provinces Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...
of
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The term "Great Plains" usually refers specifically to the United States portion of the ecozone while the Canadian portion is known as the Canadian Prairies. In Canada it covers southeastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and a narrow band of southwestern Manitoba, these three provinces collectively known as the "Prairie Provinces". The entire region is known for supporting extensive cattle- ranching and
dryland farming Dryland farming and dry farming encompass specific agricultural techniques for the non-irrigated cultivation of crops. Dryland farming is associated with drylands, areas characterized by a cool wet season (which charges the soil with virtually ...
. Grasslands are among the least protected biomes with vast areas having been converted for agricultural purposes and pastures.


Usage

The term "Great Plains" is used in the United States to describe a sub-section of the even more vast Interior Plains physiographic division, which covers much of the interior of North America. It also has currency as a region of human geography, referring to the
Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) of N ...
or the Plains states. In Canada the term is rarely used; Natural Resources Canada, the government department responsible for official mapping, treats the Interior Plains as one unit consisting of several related plateaus and plains. There is no region referred to as the "Great Plains" in the '' Atlas of Canada''. In terms of human geography, the term ''prairie'' is more commonly used in Canada, and the region is known as the Canadian Prairies, Prairie Provinces or simply "the Prairies". The '' North American Environmental Atlas'', produced by the
Commission for Environmental Cooperation The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC; es, Comisión para la Cooperación Ambiental; french: Commission de coopération environnementale) was established by Canada, Mexico, and the United States to implement the North American Agree ...
, a NAFTA agency composed of the geographical agencies of the Mexican, American, and Canadian governments, uses the "Great Plains" as an ecoregion synonymous with predominant prairies and grasslands rather than as physiographic region defined by topography. The Great Plains ecoregion includes five sub-regions: Temperate Prairies, West-Central Semi-Arid Prairies, South-Central Semi-Arid Prairies, Texas Louisiana Coastal Plains, and Tamaulipas-Texas Semi-Arid Plain, which overlap or expand upon other Great Plains designations.


Extent

The region is about east to west and north to south. Much of the region was home to American bison herds until they were hunted to near extinction during the mid/late-19th century. It has an area of approximately . Current thinking regarding the geographic boundaries of the Great Plains is shown by thi
map
at the Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska–Lincoln. This definition, however, is primarily ecological, not physiographic. The Boreal Plains of Western Canada are physiographically the same, but differentiated by their tundra and forest (rather than grassland) appearance. The term "Great Plains", for the region west of about the 96th and east of the Rocky Mountains, was not generally used before the early 20th century. Nevin Fenneman's 1916 study ''Physiographic Subdivision of the United States'' brought the term Great Plains into more widespread usage. Before that the region was almost invariably called the High Plains, in contrast to the lower Prairie Plains of the Midwestern states. Today the term "
High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions: *High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains * High Plains (Australia), land region adjacent to the Great Dividing Range See also * Altiplano (disambiguation) The ...
" is used for a subregion of the Great Plains. The term still remains little-used in Canada compared to the more common, "prairie".


Geography

The Great Plains are the westernmost portion of the vast
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n Interior Plains, which extend east to the Appalachian Plateau. The United States Geological Survey divides the Great Plains in the United States into ten physiographic subdivisions: * Missouri Coteau or Missouri Plateau (which also extends into
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
), glaciated – east central South Dakota, northern and eastern North Dakota and northeastern Montana; * Coteau du Missouri, unglaciated – western South Dakota, northeastern Wyoming, southwestern North Dakota and southeastern Montana; * Black Hills – western South Dakota; *
High Plains High Plains refers to one of two distinct land regions: *High Plains (United States), land region of the western Great Plains * High Plains (Australia), land region adjacent to the Great Dividing Range See also * Altiplano (disambiguation) The ...
– southeastern Wyoming, southwestern South Dakota, western Nebraska (including the Sand Hills), eastern Colorado, western Kansas, western Oklahoma,
eastern New Mexico Eastern New Mexico is a physiographic subregion within the U.S. state of New Mexico. The region is sometimes called the "High Plains," or "Eastern Plains (of New Mexico)," and was historically referred to as part of the "Great American Desert". The ...
, and northwestern Texas (including the
Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
and Texas Panhandle); * Plains Border – central Kansas and northern Oklahoma (including the Flint, Red and Smoky Hills); * Colorado Piedmont – eastern Colorado; * Raton section – northeastern New Mexico; * Pecos Valley – eastern New Mexico; * Edwards Plateau – south central Texas; and *
Central Texas Central Texas is a region in the U.S. state of Texas surrounding Austin and roughly bordered by San Saba to Bryan and San Marcos to Hillsboro. Central Texas overlaps with and includes part of the Texas Hill Country and corresponds to a ph ...
section – central Texas. Further to this can be added Canadian physiographic sub-regions such as the
Alberta Plain Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...
, Cypress Hills, Manitoba Escarpment (eastward),
Manitoba Plain , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
, Missouri Coteau (shared), Rocky Mountain Foothills (eastward), and
Saskatchewan Plain Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Da ...
. The Great Plains consist of a broad stretch of country underlain by nearly horizontal
strata In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
extending westward from the 97th meridian west to the base of the Rocky Mountains, a distance of . It extends northward from the
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
boundary far into Canada. Although the altitude of the plains increases gradually from 600 or on the east to 4,000–5,000 or near the mountains, the local relief is generally small. The semi-arid climate excludes tree growth and opens far-reaching views. The plains are by no means a simple unit. They are of diverse structure and of various stages of erosional development. They are occasionally interrupted by buttes and escarpments. They are frequently broken by valleys. Yet on the whole, a broadly extended surface of moderate relief so often prevails that the name, Great Plains, for the region as a whole is well-deserved. The western boundary of the plains is usually well-defined by the abrupt ascent of the mountains. The eastern boundary of the plains (in the United States) is more climatic than topographic. The line of of annual rainfall trends a little east of northward near the 97th meridian. If a boundary must be drawn where nature presents only a gradual transition, this rainfall line may be taken to divide the drier plains from the moister prairies. However, in Canada the eastern boundary of the plains is well defined by the presence of the
Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...
to the northeast. The plains (within the United States) may be described in northern, intermediate, central and southern sections, in relation to certain peculiar features. In Canada, no such division is used: the climatic and vegetation regions are more impactful on human settlement than mere topography, and therefore the region is split into (from north to south), the
taiga plains The Taiga Plain Ecozone, as defined by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), is a Canadian terrestrial ecozone that covers most of the western Northwest Territories, extending to northwest Alberta, northeast British Columbia and sli ...
, boreal plains, aspen parkland, and prairie ecoregion regions.


Northern Great Plains

The northern section of the Great Plains, north of latitude 44°, includes eastern Montana, eastern Wyoming, most of North Dakota and South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota and portions of the Canadian provinces including southeastern
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, southern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba. The strata here are Cretaceous or early Tertiary, lying nearly horizontal. The surface is shown to be a plain of degradation by a gradual ascent here and there to the crest of a ragged escarpment, the escarpment-remnant of a resistant stratum. There are also the occasional lava-capped mesas and dike formed ridges, surmounting the general level by or more and manifestly demonstrating the widespread erosion of the surrounding plains. All these reliefs are more plentiful towards the mountains in central Montana. The peneplain is no longer in the cycle of erosion that witnessed its production. It appears to have suffered a regional uplift or increase in elevation, for the upper Missouri River and its branches no longer flow on the surface of the plain, but in well graded, maturely opened valleys, several hundred feet below the general level. A significant exception to the rule of mature valleys occurs, however, in the case of the Missouri, the largest river, which is broken by several falls on hard sandstones about east of the mountains. This peculiar feature is explained as the result of displacement of the river from a better graded preglacial valley by the Pleistocene ice sheet. Here, the ice sheet overspread the plains from the moderately elevated Canadian highlands far on the north-east, instead of from the much higher mountains nearby on the west. The present altitude of the plains near the mountain base is . The northern plains are interrupted by several small mountain areas. The Black Hills, chiefly in western South Dakota, are the largest group. They rise like a large island from the sea, occupying an oval area of about north-south by east-west. At Black Elk Peak, they reach an altitude of and have an effective relief over the plains of 2000 or This mountain mass is of flat-arched, dome-like structure, now well dissected by radiating consequent streams. The weaker uppermost strata have been eroded down to the level of the plains where their upturned edges are evenly truncated. The next following harder strata have been sufficiently eroded to disclose the core of underlying igneous and metamorphic crystalline rocks in about half of the domed area.


Intermediate Great Plains

In the intermediate section of the plains, between latitudes 44° and 42°, including southern South Dakota and northern Nebraska, the erosion of certain large districts is peculiarly elaborate. Known as the Badlands, it is a minutely dissected form with a relief of a few hundred feet. This is due to several causes: * the dry climate, which prevents the growth of a grassy turf * the fine texture of the Tertiary strata in the badland districts * every little rill, at times of rain, carves its own little valley.


Central Great Plains

The central section of the Great Plains, between latitudes 42° and 36°, occupying eastern
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
and western Kansas, is mostly a dissected
fluviatile In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluvio ...
plain. That is, this section was once smoothly covered with a gently sloping plain of gravel and sand that had been spread far forward on a broad denuded area as a piedmont deposit by the rivers which issued from the mountains. Since then, it has been more or less dissected by the erosion of valleys. The central section of the plains thus presents a marked contrast to the northern section. While the northern section owes its smoothness to the removal of local gravels and sands from a formerly uneven surface by the action of degrading rivers and their inflowing tributaries, the southern section owes its smoothness to the deposition of imported gravels and sands upon a previously uneven surface by the action of aggrading rivers and their outgoing distributaries. The two sections are also alike in that residual eminences still here and there surmount the peneplain of the northern section, while the fluviatile plain of the central section completely buried the pre-existent relief. An exception to this statement must be made for the southwest, close to the mountains in southern Colorado, where some lava-capped mesas (
Mesa de Maya The Mesa de Maya is a prominent volcanic tableland rising to above the Great Plains in southeastern Colorado. A narrow finger of the mesa extends eastward through the northeastern corner of New Mexico and a few miles into Oklahoma where it is kno ...
, Raton Mesa) stand several thousand feet above the general plain level, and thus testify to the widespread erosion of this region before it was aggraded.


Southern Great Plains

The southern section of the Great Plains, between latitudes 35.5° and 25.5°, lies in western Texas, eastern New Mexico, and western
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. Like the central section, it is for the most part a dissected fluviatile plain. However, the lower lands which surround it on all sides place it in such strong relief that it stands up as a table-land, known from the time of Mexican occupation as the
Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
. It measures roughly east-west and north-south. It is of very irregular outline, narrowing to the south. Its altitude is at the highest western point, nearest the mountains whence its gravels were supplied. From there, it slopes southeastward at a decreasing rate, first about , then about 7 ft per mile (1.3 m/km), to its eastern and southern borders, where it is in altitude. Like the High Plains farther north, it is extraordinarily smooth. It is very dry, except for occasional shallow and temporary water sheets after rains. Llano is separated from the plains on the north by the mature consequent valley of the
Canadian River The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River in the United States. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and Oklahoma. The drainage area is about .Pecos River The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...
. On the east, it is strongly undercut by the retrogressive erosion of the headwaters of the Red, Brazos, and Colorado rivers of Texas and presents a ragged escarpment approximately high, overlooking the central denuded area of that state. There, between the Brazos and Colorado rivers, occurs a series of isolated outliers capped by limestone that underlies both the Llano Uplift on the west and the
Grand Prairies Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
escarpment on the east. The southern and narrow part of the table-land, called the Edwards Plateau, is more dissected than the rest, and falls off to the south in a frayed-out fault scarp. This scarp overlooks the coastal plain of the
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
embayment. The central denuded area, east of the Llano, resembles the east-central section of the plains in exposing older rocks. Between these two similar areas, in the space limited by the Canadian and Red Rivers, rise the subdued forms of the Wichita Mountains in
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, the westernmost member of the Ouachita system.


Other terminology

The term "Western Plains" is used to describe the ecoregion of the Great Plains, or alternatively the western portion of the Great Plains.


Natural history


Climate

In general, the Great Plains have a wide range of weather, with very cold and harsh winters and very hot and humid summers. Wind speeds are often very high, especially in winter. The 100th meridian roughly corresponds with the line that divides the Great Plains into an area that receives or more of rainfall per year and an area that receives less than . In this context, the High Plains, as well as Southern Alberta, south-western Saskatchewan and
Eastern Montana Eastern Montana is a loosely defined region of Montana. Some definitions are more or less inclusive than others, ranging from the most inclusive, which would include the entire part of the state east of the Continental Divide, to the least inclusiv ...
are mainly semi arid steppe land and are generally characterised by rangeland or marginal farmland. The region (especially the High Plains) is periodically subjected to extended periods of drought; high winds in the region may then generate devastating dust storms. The eastern Great Plains near the eastern boundary falls in the
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40 ...
zone in the southern areas, and the northern and central areas fall in the humid continental climate. Many thunderstorms occur in the plains in the spring through summer. The southeastern portion of the Great Plains is the most tornado active area in the world and is sometimes referred to as Tornado Alley.


Flora

The Great Plains are part of the floristic North American Prairies Province, which extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians.


Fauna

Mammals: Although the American bison (''Bison bison'') historically ranged throughout much of North America (from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
to Oregon and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
to northern Mexico), they are strongly associated with the Great Plains where they once roamed in immense herds. Pronghorn (''Antilocapra americana'') range into western areas of the region. The black-tailed prairie dog (''Cynomys ludovicianus'') is another iconic species among several rodents that are linked to the region including the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (''Ictidomys tridecemlineatus''), spotted ground squirrel (''Xerospermophilus spilosoma''), Franklin's ground squirrel (''Poliocitellus franklinii''), plains pocket gopher (''Geomys bursarius''), hispid pocket mouse (''Chaetodipus hispidus''),
olive-backed pocket mouse The olive-backed pocket mouse (''Perognathus fasciatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in the central Great Plains of Canada and the United States where it is widespread and relatively common; the IUCN consider ...
(''Perognathus fasciatus''),
plains pocket mouse The plains pocket mouse (''Perognathus flavescens'') is a heteromyid rodent of North America.Monk, R. Richard, and J. Knox Jones.Perognathus flavescens" Mammalian Species 525 (1996): 1-4. It ranges from southwestern Minnesota and southeastern N ...
(''Perognathus flavescens''), and plains harvest mouse (''Reithrodontomys montanus''), Two carnivores associated with the Great Plains include the swift fox (''Vulpes velox'') and the endangered
black-footed ferret The black-footed ferret (''Mustela nigripes''), also known as the American polecatHeptner, V. G. (Vladimir Georgievich); Nasimovich, A. A; Bannikov, Andrei Grigorovich; Hoffmann, Robert S. (2001)''Mammals of the Soviet Union''Volume: v. 2, pt. 1 ...
(''Mustela nigripes'').Reid, Fiona, A. 2006. ''A Field Guide to mammals of North America North of Mexico, Peterson Field Guide Series, 4th ed.'' Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. New York, N. Y. xx, 579 pp. Birds: The lesser prairie chicken (''Tympanuchus pallidicinctus'') is
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found els ...
to the Great Plains and the distribution of the greater prairie chicken (''Tympanuchus cupido'') predominantly occurs in the region, although the latter historically ranged further eastward. The Harris's sparrow (''Zonotrichia querula'') spends winter months in southern areas of the region. Other species migrate from the south in the spring and spend their breeding season on the plains, including the
white-faced ibis The white-faced ibis (''Plegadis chihi'') is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western United States south ...
(''Plegadis chihi''), mountain plover (''Charadrius montanus''), marbled godwit (''Limosa fedoa''), Sprague's pipit (''Anthus spragueii''), Cassin's sparrow (''Peucaea cassinii''),
Baird's sparrow Baird's sparrow (''Centronyx bairdii'') is a species of North American birds in the family Passerellidae of order Passeriformes. It is a migratory bird native to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Description The Baird's sparrow can be ident ...
(''Centronyx bairdii''), lark bunting (''Calamospiza melanocorys''), chestnut-collared longspur (''Calcarius ornatus''), thick-billed longspur or McCown's longspur (''Rhynchophanes mccownii''), and dickcissel (''Spiza americana'').Mulroy, Kevin (Editor-in-Chief). 2002. ''Field Guide to the Birds of North America, 4th edition.'' National Geographic, Washington, D. C. 480 pp. Reptiles: The prairie rattlesnake ('' Crotalus viridis'') ranges throughout much of the Great Plains and into the valleys and lower elevations of the eastern Rocky Mountains and portions of the American southwest. Other snakes include the plains hog-nosed snake (''
Heterodon nasicus The western hognose snake (''Heterodon nasicus'') is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to North America. Etymology The specific name, ''nasicus'', is from the Latin ''nasus'' ("nose"), in reference to the u ...
''), western milksnake ('' Lampropeltis gentilis''), great plains ratsnake (''
Pantherophis emoryi ''Pantherophis emoryi'', commonly known as the Great Plains rat snake, is a species of nonvenomous rat snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the central part of the United States, from Missouri to Nebraska, to Colorado, south ...
''), bullsnake (''
Pituophis catenifer sayi ''Pituophis'' is a genus of non venomous colubrid snakes, commonly referred to as gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes, which are endemic to North America. Geographic range Species and subspecies within the genus ''Pituophis'' are f ...
''), plains black-headed snake (''
Tantilla nigriceps The Plains black-headed snake or Plains blackhead snake (''Tantilla nigriceps'') is a species of snake of the family Colubridae. They are approximately in length, with a uniform tan to brownish-gray. Their ventral scales are white with a pink or ...
''), plains gartersnake ('' Thamnophis radix''), and lined snake ('' Tropidoclonion lineatum''). Reptile diversity increases significantly in southern regions of the Great Plains. The ornate box turtle (''
Terrapene ornata ''Terrapene ornata'' is a species of North American box turtle sometimes referred to as the western box turtle or the ornate box turtle. It is one of two recognized species of box turtle in the United States, having two subspecies. The second rec ...
'') and great plains skink ('' Plestiodon obsoletus'') occur in southern areas.Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph Collins. 2016. ''Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, 4th ed.'' Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. New York, N. Y. xiii, 494 pp.
ages 202-209 Ages may refer to: * Advanced glycation end-products, known as AGEs * Ages, Kentucky, census-designated place, United States * ''Ages'' (album) by German electronic musician Edgar Froese *The geologic time scale, a system of chronological measurem ...
Amphibians: Although few salamanders are strongly associated with region, the western tiger salamander (''
Ambystoma mavortium The barred tiger salamander or western tiger salamander (''Ambystoma mavortium'') is a species of mole salamander that lives in lower western Canada, the western United States and northern Mexico. Description The barred tiger salamander typical ...
'') ranges through much of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, as does the rocky mountain toad ('' Anaxyrus w. woodhousi''). Other anurans related to region include the great plains toad (''
Anaxyrus cognatus ''Anaxyrus'' is a genus of true toads in the family Bufonidae. The genus is endemic to North and Central America. Some authors consider ''Anaxyrus'' to be a subgenus within ''Bufo ''Bufo'' is a genus of true toads in the amphibian family Bufo ...
''), plains leopard frog ('' Lithobates blairi''), and plains spadefoot ('' Spea bombifrons'').Dodd Jr., C. Kenneth (2013) ''Frogs of the United States and Canada, Vol. I & II''. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 982 pp. Fish: Some species predominately associated with various river basins in the Great Plains include
sturgeon chub The sturgeon chub (''Macrhybopsis gelida'') is a species of ray-finned minnow fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is found only in the United States. It is a species of concern in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge in Montana. Name ...
(''Macrhybopsis gelida''),
peppered chub The peppered chub (''Macrhybopsis tetranema''), also known as the Arkansas River speckled chub, is a freshwater ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae, the carps and minnows. It historically occurred throughout the Arkansas River drainage, but ...
(''Macrhybopsis tetranema''), prairie chub (''Macrhybopsis australis''),
western silvery minnow The western silvery minnow (''Hybognathus argyritis'') is a freshwater fish native to North America where it is found in the Missouri River basin, the Mississippi River drainage from the mouth of the Missouri River to the mouth of Ohio River, ...
(''Hybognathus argyritis''), plains minnow (''Hybognathus placitus''),
smalleye shiner The smalleye shiner (''Notropis buccula'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae (carps and minnows). It is found only in the upper Brazos River basin of Texas, which includes the Double Mountain and Salt forks of the upper Br ...
(''Notropis buccula''), Arkansas River shiner (''Notropis girardi''),
Red River shiner The Red River shiner (''Notropis bairdi'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus ''Notropis''. It is endemic to the United States, where it is found in the Red River in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, S ...
(''Notropis bairdi''),
Topeka shiner The Topeka shiner (''Notropis topeka'') is a North American species of cyprinid freshwater fish. The Topeka shiner is a type of minnow that does not grow longer than a few inches. This minnow is a shiny silver color its main physical characteris ...
(''Notropis topeka''),
plains topminnow The plains topminnow (''Fundulus sciadicus'') is a species of freshwater topminnow found in North America. The fish has a small range within the United States of America which consists of two major populations. Description The plains topminnow ...
(''Fundulus sciadicus''), plains killifish (''
Fundulus zebrinus ''Fundulus zebrinus'' is a species of fish in the Fundulidae known by the common name plains killifish. It is native to North America, where it is distributed throughout the Mississippi River, Colorado River, and Rio Grande drainages, and other r ...
''), Red River pupfish (''
Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis ''Cyprinodon rubrofluviatilis'', known as the Red River pupfish, is a species of pupfish from the United States. It is found only in the Red River of the South and Brazos River drainages of Texas and Oklahoma. It grows to a total length of and f ...
''), and Arkansas darter (''Etheostoma cragini'').Lee, D. S., C. R. Gilbert, C. H. Hocutt, R. E. Jenkins, D. E. McAllister, and J. R. Stauffer, Jr. 1980. ''Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes.'' North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. x, 867 pp. Page, L. M. and B. M. Burr. 2011. ''Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes: North America North of Mexico, Second Edition.'' Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, Massachusetts. xix, 663 pp. File:Black-footed Ferrets in Preconditioning Pens (15519959116) (cropped).jpg, Black-footed ferret (''Mustela nigripes'') National Black-footed Ferret Conservation Center, Colorado File:Swift Fox (cropped).jpg, Swift fox (''Vulpes velox''), Colorado File:Tympanuchus pallidicinctus-1jpg (cropped).jpg, Lesser prairie-chicken (''Tympanuchus pallidicinctus'') on a lek in the Red Hills of Kansas File:Great Plains Rat Snake (Pantherophis emoryi) (8726969667).jpg, Great Plains ratsnake (''Pantherophis emoryi''), Missouri File:Great Plains toad (cropped).jpg, Great Plains toad (''Anaxyrus cognatus'')


Paleontology

During the Cretaceous Period (145–66 million years ago), the Great Plains were covered by a shallow
inland sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...
called the Western Interior Seaway. However, during the Late Cretaceous to the Paleocene (65–55 million years ago), the seaway had begun to recede, leaving behind thick marine deposits and a relatively flat terrain which the seaway had once occupied. During the Cenozoic era, specifically about 25 million years ago during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, the continental climate became favorable to the evolution of grasslands. Existing forest biomes declined and grasslands became much more widespread. The grasslands provided a new niche for mammals, including many ungulates and glires, that switched from browsing diets to grazing diets. Traditionally, the spread of grasslands and the development of grazers have been strongly linked. However, an examination of mammalian teeth suggests that it is the open, gritty habitat and not the grass itself which is linked to diet changes in mammals, giving rise to the " grit, not grass" hypothesis. Paleontological finds in the area have yielded bones of mammoths,
saber-toothed cats Sabretooth or sabertooth may refer to: Animals * Saber-toothed cat, several prehistoric felines ** ''Smilodon'', a prehistoric genus of felidae * Sabertooth fish, a deep-sea fish found in the tropics ** Sabre-toothed blenny, ''Aspidontus taenia ...
and other ancient animals, as well as dozens of other
megafauna In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...
(large animals over ) – such as
giant sloths Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. The term is used to refer to all extinct sloths because of the large size of the earliest forms discovered, compared to existing tree sloths. The Caribbea ...
,
horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
, mastodons, and American lion – that dominated the area of the ancient Great Plains for thousands to millions of years. The vast majority of these animals became extinct in North America at the end of the Pleistocene (around 13,000 years ago). A number of significant fossil sites are located in the Great Plains including Agate Fossil Beds National Monument (Nebraska), Ashfall Fossil Beds (Nebraska),
Clayton Lake State Park Clayton Lake State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, featuring a recreational reservoir and a fossil trackway of dinosaur footprints. It is located north of Clayton, New Mexico, Clayton, close to New Mexico's border with Colora ...
(New Mexico), Dinosaur Valley State Park (Texas), Hudson-Meng Bison Kill (Nebraska), Makoshika State Park (Montana), and The Mammoth Site (South Dakota).


Public and protected lands

Public and protected lands in the Great Plains include National Parks and National Monuments, administers by the National Park Service with the responsibility of preserving ecological and historical places and making them available to the public.National Park Service
About Us
(referenced April 9, 2022)
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service manages the National Wildlife Refuges, with the primary responsibility of conserving and protecting fish, wildlife, plants, and habitat in the public trust.United States Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/ (referenced April 9, 2022) Both are agencies of the
Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...
. In contrast,
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
, an agency of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, administers the National Forests and National Grasslands, under a multiple-use concept. By law, the U.S. Forest Service must consider all resources, with no single resource emphasized to the detriment of others, including water, soil, grazing, timber harvesting, and minerals (mining and drilling), as well as recreation and conservation of fish and wildlife.United States Forest Service
Managing the Land
(referenced April 9, 2022)
Each individual state also administers state lands, typically smaller areas, for various purposes including conservation and recreation. Grasslands are among the least protected biomes. Humans have converted much of the prairies for agricultural purposes or to create pastures. Several of the protected lands in the region are centered around aberrant and uncharacteristic features of the region, such as mountains, outcrops, and canyons (e.g.
Devil's Tower National Monument Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Be ...
, Wind Cave National Park, Scotts Bluff National Monument), and as splendid and worthy as they are, they are not primarily focused on conserving the plains and prairies. *Alberta:
Elk Island National Park Elk Island National Park is a national park in Alberta, Canada, that played an important part in the conservation of the Plains bison. The park is administered by the Parks Canada Agency. This "island of conservation" is east of Edmonton, alo ...
(48,000 acres), Suffield National Wildlife Area (113,263 acres). *Colorado: Comanche National Grassland (443,081 acres),
Pawnee National Grassland Pawnee National Grassland is a United States National Grassland located in northeastern Colorado on the Colorado Eastern Plains. The grassland is located in the South Platte River basin in remote northern and extreme northeastern Weld County bet ...
(193,060 acres), Thunder Basin National Grassland (547,499 acres) *Iowa: DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge (8,362 acres) *Kansas: Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area (41,000 acres), Cimarron National Grassland (108,176 acres),
Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is a wildlife refuge located north and east of the city of Hartford, Kansas, United States, in northwestern Coffey and southeastern Lyon Counties. It was established in 1966 as part of the U.S. Army Corps ...
(18,463 acres), Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge (10,778 acres), Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge (7,500 acres), Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (22,135 acres), Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (10,882 acres). *Manitoba: Riding Mountain National Park (733,400 acres), Turtle Mountain Provincial Park (46,080 acres). *Oklahoma: Black Kettle National Grassland (31,286 acres), Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge (32,080 acres), Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (59,000 acres). *Missouri:
Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge (renamed in January 2017 from Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge) is a National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Missouri, United States, established in 1935 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a refuge an ...
(7,350 acres). *Minnesota:
Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwest Minnesota. Packs of wolves, moose, waterfowl, and 294 species of birds make this refuge a wildlife wonderland. The refuge, originally named Mud Lake Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, was establis ...
(61,500 acres), Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge (11,586 acres), Glacial Lakes State Park (2,423 acres),
Blue Mounds State Park Blue Mounds State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, in Rock County, Minnesota, Rock County near the town of Luverne, Minnesota, Luverne. It protects an American Bison, American bison herd which grazes on one of the state's largest prairie ...
( 1,567 acres). *Montana:
Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge The Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge (abbreviated as the CMR NWR) is a National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of Montana on the Missouri River. The refuge surrounds Fort Peck Reservoir and is in size.U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servi ...
(915,814 acres), Makoshika State Park (11,538 acres), Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge (31,533 acres),
Rosebud Battlefield State Park Rosebud Battlefield State Park in Big Horn County, Montana preserves a large portion of the battlefield of the Battle of the Rosebud, fought on June 17, 1876. The battle is known by various other names such as The Battle Where the Girl Saved Her B ...
(3,052 acres), UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge (56,048),
Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is a national monument in the western United States, protecting the Missouri Breaks of north central Montana. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), it is a series of badland areas chara ...
(377,000 acres). *Nebraska: Scotts Bluff National Monument (3,000 acres), Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge (4,040 acres),
Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Nebraska and includes 45,818 acres (185 km2). The refuge contains the largest protected continuous sand dunes in the U.S. A dozen small lakes and numerous ponds are fe ...
(45,818 acres), Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge (19,131 acres), John and Louise Seier National Wildlife Refuge (2,400 acres),
North Platte National Wildlife Refuge North Platte National Wildlife Refuge is located in the U.S. state of Nebraska and includes 5,047 acres (20.42 km2). Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the refuge is broken into four separate sections that are superimposed on ...
(5,047 acres), Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District (22,864 acres), Valentine National Wildlife Refuge (71,516 acres). *New Mexico:
Grulla National Wildlife Refuge Grulla National Wildlife Refuge is located primarily in eastern New Mexico in Roosevelt County, southwest of the intersection of State Highway 88 and the Texas - New Mexico border about 25 miles southeast of Portales, New Mexico and southeast of ...
(3,236 acres),
Kiowa National Grassland Kiowa National Grassland is a National Grassland, located in northeastern New Mexico. The southwestern Great Plains grassland includes prairie and part of the Canadian River Canyon. Sections It is located in two non-adjacent units of northe ...
(137,131 acres). *North Dakota: Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge (15,934 acres),
Audubon National Wildlife Refuge Audubon National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is the centerpiece of the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes nu ...
(14,739 acres),
Little Missouri State Park Little Missouri State Park is a public recreation area of over located on the western side of the Little Missouri River, near the river's confluence with Lake Sakakawea, north of Killdeer, North Dakota. Much of the state park consists of badla ...
(6,492 acres),
Sheyenne National Grassland Sheyenne National Grassland is a National Grassland located in southeastern North Dakota in the United States, comprising of public land amid of privately owned land in a region of sandy soils in the vicinity of the Sheyenne River in Ransom and ...
(70,180 acres), Theodore Roosevelt National Park (70,446 acres). *Saskatchewan:
Grasslands National Park Grasslands National Park (French: ') is a Canadian national park located near the village of Val Marie, Saskatchewan, and one of 44 national parks and park reserves in Canada's national park system (though one of only two in Saskatchewan its ...
(224,000 acres), Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area (38,553 acres). *South Dakota: Badlands National Park (242,756 acres), Black Hills National Forest (1,253,308 acres), Custer State Park (71,000 acres),
Fort Pierre National Grassland Fort Pierre National Grassland is a United States National Grassland in central South Dakota, south of the capital city Pierre and its neighbor Fort Pierre. The national grassland is primarily a mixed-grass prairie and has a land area of . In ...
(115,890 acres), Grand River National Grassland (154,783 acres), Wind Cave National Park (33,847 acres). *Texas: Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge (7,664 acres), Caddo National Grassland (17,873-acres),
Caprock Canyons State Park Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway is a Texas state park located along the eastern edge of the Llano Estacado in Briscoe County, Texas, United States, approximately southeast of Amarillo. The state park opened in 1982 and is in size, ma ...
(15,313 acres), Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (11,320 acres),
Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) National Grassland is a national grassland located in the Great Plains of the northern part of the U.S. state of Texas near Decatur, and within an hour's drive from Fort Worth. It is primarily used for recreation, such ...
(20,309 acres), Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge (6,440 acres),
Palo Duro Canyon State Park Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo and Canyon, Texas, Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an ...
(26,200 acres), Rita Blanca National Grassland (230,000 acres). *Wyoming:
Curt Gowdy State Park Curt Gowdy State Park is a public recreation area covering in Albany and Laramie counties in Wyoming, United States. It is located on Wyoming Highway 210 (Happy Jack Road), halfway between Cheyenne and Laramie, about from each. The state p ...
(3,395),
Devil's Tower National Monument Devils Tower (also known as Bear Lodge Butte) is a butte, possibly laccolithic, composed of igneous rock in the Bear Lodge Ranger District of the Black Hills, near Hulett and Sundance in Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, above the Be ...
(1,346 acres), Glendo State Park (ca. 10,000 acres of land).


History


Original American contact

The first Peoples ( Paleo-Indians) arrived on the Great Plains thousands of years ago. Historically, the Great Plains were the range of the
Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...
, Crow,
Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...
, Cheyenne, Arapaho,
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...
, and others. Eastern portions of the Great Plains were inhabited by tribes who lived at Etzanoa and in semi-permanent villages of earth lodges, such as the
Arikara Arikara (), also known as Sahnish,
''Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation.'' (Retrieved Sep 29, 2011)
, Mandan, Pawnee, and Wichita. The introduction of corn around 800 CE allowed the development of the mound-building
Mississippian culture The Mississippian culture was a Native Americans in the United States, Native American civilization that flourished in what is now the Midwestern United States, Midwestern, Eastern United States, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from appr ...
along rivers that crossed the Great Plains and that included trade networks west to the Rocky Mountains. Mississippians settled the Great Plains at sites now in
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
and South Dakota. Siouan language speakers may have originated in the lower Mississippi River region. They were agriculturalists and may have been part of the Mound Builder civilization during the 9th–12th centuries. Wars with the Ojibwe and
Cree people The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations. In Canada, over 350,000 people are Cree or ...
s pushed the Lakota (Teton Sioux) west onto the Great Plains in the mid- to late-17th century. The
Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...
originated in the western
Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...
and spread north and east into present-day Idaho and Wyoming. By 1500, some Eastern Shoshone had crossed the Rocky Mountains into the Great Plains. After 1750, warfare and pressure from the Blackfoot, Crow, Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho pushed Eastern Shoshone south and westward. Some of them moved as far south as Texas, emerging as the
Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...
by 1700.


Arrival of horses

The first known contact between Europeans and Indians in the Great Plains occurred in what is now Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska from 1540 to 1542 with the arrival of
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján (; 1510 – 22 September 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who led a large expedition from what is now Mexico to present-day Kansas through parts of the southwestern United States between 15 ...
, a Spanish conquistador. In that same period,
Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
crossed a west-northwest direction in what is now Oklahoma and Texas which is now known as the De Soto Trail. The Spanish thought that the Great Plains were the location of the mythological '' Quivira and Cíbola'', a place said to be rich in gold. People in the southwest began to acquire horses in the 16th century by trading or stealing them from Spanish colonists in New Mexico. As horse culture moved northward, the Comanche were among the first to commit to a fully mounted nomadic lifestyle. This occurred by the 1730s, when they had acquired enough horses to put all their people on horseback. The real beginning of the horse culture of the plains began with the
Pueblo Revolt of 1680 The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Popay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than present-day New Mexi ...
in New Mexico and the capture of thousands of horses and other livestock. In 1683 a Spanish expedition into Texas found horses among Native people. In 1690, a few horses were found by the Spanish among the Indians living at the mouth of the Colorado River of Texas and the
Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...
of eastern Texas had a sizeable number.Haines, Francis. "The Northward Spread of Horses among the Plains Indians. ''American Anthropologist'', Vol 40, No. 3 (1988) p. 382 The French explorer Claude Charles Du Tisne found 300 horses among the Wichita on the Verdigris River in 1719, but they were still not plentiful. Another Frenchman, Bourgmont, could only buy seven at a high price from the Kaw in 1724, indicating that horses were still scarce among tribes in Kansas. By 1770, that Plains Indians culture was mature, consisting of mounted buffalo-hunting nomads from Saskatchewan and
Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
southward nearly to the
Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...
. The milder winters of the southern Plains favored a pastoral economy by the Indians. On the northeastern Plains of Canada, the Indians were less favored, with families owning fewer horses, remaining more dependent upon dogs for transporting goods, and hunting bison on foot. The scarcity of horses in the north encouraged raiding and warfare in competition for the relatively small number of horses that survived the severe winters. Comanche power peaked in the 1840s when they conducted large-scale raids hundreds of miles into Mexico proper, while also warring against the Anglo-Americans and Tejanos who had settled in independent Texas.


Fur trade

The
fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...
brought thousands of colonial settlers into the Great Plains over the next 100 years. Fur trappers made their way across much of the region, making regular contacts with Indians. The United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and conducted the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804–1806, and more information became available concerning the Plains, and various pioneers entered the areas. Fur trading posts were often the basis of later settlements. Through the 19th century, more settlers migrated to the Great Plains as part of a vast
westward expansion The United States of America was created on July 4, 1776, with the U.S. Declaration of Independence of thirteen British colonies in North America. In the Lee Resolution two days prior, the colonies resolved that they were free and independent ...
of population, and new settlements became dotted across the Great Plains. The settlers also brought diseases against which the Indians had no resistance. Between a half and two-thirds of the Plains Indians are thought to have died of smallpox by the time of the Louisiana Purchase. The
1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic The 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic spanned 1836 through 1840, but reached its height after the spring of 1837 when an American Fur Company steamboat, the S.S. ''St. Peter'', carried infected people and supplies into the Missouri Valley.''Ratio ...
spread across the Great Plains, killing many thousands between 1837 and 1840. In the end, it is estimated that two-thirds of the Blackfoot population died, along with half of the Assiniboines and Arikaras, a third of the Crows, and a quarter of the Pawnees.


Pioneer settlement

* Fort Lisa (1809), North Dakota * Fort Lisa (1812), Nebraska *
Fort Atkinson (Nebraska) Fort Atkinson was the first United States Army post to be established west of the Missouri River in the unorganized region of the Louisiana Purchase of the United States. Located just east of present-day Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, the fort was er ...
(1819), Nebraska * Fontenelle's Post (1822), Nebraska * Cabanne's Trading Post (1822), Nebraska * Fort Kiowa (1822), South Dakota * Fort Laramie (1834), Texas * Fort Parker (1834), Texas * Zinkenburg (1845), Texas *
Fort Kearney Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the western U.S. during the middle and late 19th century. The fort was named after Col. and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located along the ...
(1848), Nebraska *
Fort Martin Scott Fort Martin Scott is a restored United States Army outpost near Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill Country, United States, that was active from December 5, 1848, until April, 1853. It was part of a line of frontier forts established to protect trav ...
(1848), Texas * Fort Croghan (1849), Texas * Fort Gates (1849), Texas * Fort Graham (1849), Texas *
Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accor ...
(1849), Texas * Fort Belknap (1851), Texas * Fort Mason (1851), Texas * Fort Chadbourne (1852), Texas *
Fort McKavett The Fort McKavett State Historic Site is a former United States Army installation located in Menard County, Texas. The fort was first established in 1852 as part of a line of forts in Texas intended to protect migrants traveling to California. Th ...
(1852), Texas * Fort Phantom Hill (1852), Texas * Camp Colorado (1855), Texas *
Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...
(1863), Nebraska * Fort Mitchell (1864), Nebraska *
Fort Concho Fort Concho is a former United States Army installation and National Historic Landmark District located in San Angelo, Texas. It was established in November 1867 at the confluence of the North and South Concho Rivers, on the routes of the But ...
(1867), Texas * Fort Griffin (1867), Texas * Fort Richardson (1867), Texas * Fort Sidney (1867), Nebraska * Fort Omaha (1868), Nebraska *
Fort Hartsuff A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
(1874), Nebraska *
Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
(1869), Oklahoma * Fort Robinson (1874), Nebraska *
Camp Sheridan Camp Sheridan may refer to: * Camp Sheridan (Alabama), a WWI-era post in Alabama * Camp Sheridan (Nebraska), a post established in northwestern Nebraska * Camp Sheridan (Wyoming) Fort Yellowstone was a U.S. Army fort, established in 1891 at Mamm ...
(1874), Nebraska * Fort Niobrara (1880), Nebraska * Fort Elliott (1875), Texas Beginning in 1821, the
Santa Fe Trail The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, th ...
ran from the Missouri River to New Mexico, skirting north of Comancheria. Beginning in the 1830s, the Oregon Trail led from the Missouri River across the Great Plains. After 1870, the new railroads across the Plains brought hunters who killed off almost all the
bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...
for their hides. The railroads offered attractive packages of land and transportation to American farmers, who rushed to settle the land. They also took advantage of the homestead laws to obtain farms. Land speculators and local boosters identified many potential towns, and those reached by the railroad had a chance, while the others became ghost towns. Towns flourished if they were favored by proximity to the railroad. Much of the Great Plains became open range where cattle roamed free, hosting ranching operations where anyone was free to run cattle. In the spring and fall, ranchers held roundups where their cowboys branded new calves, treated animals, and sorted the cattle for sale. Such ranching began in Texas and gradually moved northward. Between 1866 and 1895, cowboys herded 10 million cattle north to rail heads such as Dodge City, Kansas and Ogallala, Nebraska; from there, cattle were shipped east. The U.S. passed the Homestead Acts of 1862 to encourage agricultural development of the Great Plains and house a growing population. It allowed a settler to claim up to of land, provided that he lived on it for a period of five years and cultivated it. The provisions were expanded under the Kinkaid Act of 1904 to include a homestead of an entire section. Hundreds of thousands of people claimed such homesteads, sometimes building houses out of the very turf of the land. Many of them were not skilled farmers, and failures were frequent. The Dominion Lands Act of 1871 served a similar function for establishing homesteads on the prairies in Canada. File:Homesteader NE 1866.png,
Homesteaders The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of th ...
in central Nebraska in 1886 File:Johnson 1920 HighPlains.jpg, The Great Plains before the native grasses were plowed under,
Haskell County, Kansas Haskell County (county code HS) is a U.S. county, county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county population was 3,780. Its county seat and most populous city is Sublette, Kansas, Sublette ...
, 1897, showing a man near a buffalo wallow File:Cowboy1902.jpg, Cattle herd and cowboy, c. 1902 File:"Wheat field on Dutch flats near Mitchell, Nebr. Farm of T.C. Shawver." - NARA - 294480.tif, Wheat field on Dutch flats near Mitchell, Nebraska, 1910


Social life

The railroads opened up the Great Plains for settlement, making it possible to ship wheat and other crops at low cost to the urban markets in the East and overseas. Homestead land was free for American settlers. Railroads sold their land at cheap rates to immigrants in the expectation that they would generate traffic as soon as farms were established. Immigrants poured in, especially from Germany and Scandinavia. On the plains, very few single men attempted to operate a farm or ranch by themselves; they understood the need for a hard-working wife and numerous children to handle the many responsibilities. During the early years of settlement, farm women played an integral role in assuring family survival by working outdoors. After approximately one generation, women increasingly left the fields, thus redefining their roles within the family. New technology encouraged women to turn to domestic roles, including sewing and washing machines. Media and government extension agents promoted the "scientific housekeeping" movement, along with county fairs which featured achievements in home cookery and canning, advice columns for women regarding farm book keeping, and home economics courses in the schools. The eastern image of farm life in the prairies emphasized the isolation of the lonely farmer and wife, yet plains residents created busy social lives for themselves. They often sponsored activities which combined work, food, and entertainment, such as
barn raising A barn raising, also historically called a raising bee or rearing in the U.K., is a collective action of a community, in which a barn for one of the members is built or rebuilt collectively by members of the community. Barn raising was particular ...
s, corn huskings, quilting bees, Grange meetings, church activities and school functions. Women organized shared meals and potluck events, as well as extended visits among families.


20th century

The region roughly centered on the
Oklahoma Panhandle The Oklahoma Panhandle (formerly called No Man's Land, the Public Land Strip, the Neutral Strip, or Cimarron Territory) is a salient in the extreme northwestern region of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, consisting of Cimarron County, Texas Count ...
was known as the Dust Bowl during the late 1920s and early 1930s, including southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, the Texas Panhandle, and extreme northeastern New Mexico. The effects of an extended drought, inappropriate cultivation, and financial crises of the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagion ...
forced many farmers off the land throughout the Great Plains. From the 1950s on, many areas of the Great Plains have become productive crop-growing areas because of extensive irrigation on large land-holdings. The United States is a major exporter of agricultural products. The southern portion of the Great Plains lies over the Ogallala Aquifer, a huge underground layer of water-bearing strata. Center pivot irrigation is used extensively in drier sections of the Great Plains, resulting in aquifer depletion at a rate that is greater than the ground's ability to recharge.


Population decline

The rural Plains have lost a third of their population since 1920. Several hundred thousand square miles of the Great Plains have fewer than , the density standard that Frederick Jackson Turner used to declare the American frontier "closed" in 1893. Many have fewer than . There are more than 6,000 ghost towns in Kansas alone, according to Kansas historian Daniel Fitzgerald. This problem is often exacerbated by the consolidation of farms and the difficulty of attracting modern industry to the region. In addition, the smaller school-age population has forced the consolidation of school districts and the closure of high schools in some communities. The continuing population loss has led some to suggest that the current use of the drier parts of the Great Plains is not sustainable,Amanda Rees, ''The Great Plains region'' (2004) p. xvi and there has been a proposal to return approximately of these drier parts to native prairie land as a Buffalo Commons.


Wind power

The Great Plains contributes substantially to wind power in the United States.
T. Boone Pickens Thomas Boone Pickens Jr. (May 22, 1928 – September 11, 2019) was an American business magnate and financier. Pickens chaired the hedge fund BP Capital Management. He was a well-known takeover operator and corporate raider during the 1980 ...
developed wind farms after a career as a petroleum executive, and he called for the U.S. to invest $1 trillion to build an additional 200,000 MW of wind power in the Plains as part of his Pickens Plan. He cited
Sweetwater, Texas Sweetwater is a municipality in and the seat of Nolan County, Texas, United States. It is 123 miles southeast of Lubbock and 40 miles west of Abilene, Texas. Its population was 10,906 at the 2010 census. History The town's name "Sweetwater" is t ...
, as an example of economic revitalization driven by wind power development.


See also

*
1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic The 1837 Great Plains smallpox epidemic spanned 1836 through 1840, but reached its height after the spring of 1837 when an American Fur Company steamboat, the S.S. ''St. Peter'', carried infected people and supplies into the Missouri Valley.''Ratio ...
* Bison hunting * Conservation of American bison * Dust Bowl * Great American Desert * Great bison belt * Great Plains Art Museum * Great Plains Conservation Program *
Llano Estacado The Llano Estacado (), sometimes translated into English as the Staked Plains, is a region in the Southwestern United States that encompasses parts of eastern New Mexico and northwestern Texas. One of the largest mesas or tablelands on the North A ...
* Northern Great Plains History Conference * Territories of the United States on stamps


International steppe-lands

*
Eurasian Steppe The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistri ...
* Kazakh Steppe * Pampas, in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil * Pontic–Caspian steppe *
Puszta The Hungarian Puszta () is a temperate grassland biome of the Alföld or Great Hungarian Plain. It is an exclave of the Eurasian Steppe, and lies mainly around the River Tisza in the eastern part of Hungary, as well as in the western part of ...


References


Further reading

* Bonnifield, Paul. ''The Dust Bowl: Men, Dirt, and Depression'', University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1978, hardcover, . * Courtwright, Julie. ''Prairie Fire: A Great Plains History'' (University Press of Kansas, 2011) 274 pp. * Danbom, David B. ''Sod Busting: How families made farms on the 19th-century Plains'' (2014) * Eagan, Timothy. ''The Worst Hard Time : the Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl''. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 2006. * Forsberg, Michael, ''Great Plains: America's Lingering Wild'', University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 2009, * Gilfillan, Merrill. ''Chokecherry Places, Essays from the High Plains'', Johnson Press, Boulder, Colorado, trade paperback, . * Grant, Michael Johnston. ''Down and Out on the Family Farm: Rural Rehabilitation in the Great Plains, 1929–1945'', University of Nebraska Press, 2002, * Hurt, R. Douglas. ''The Big Empty: The Great Plains in the Twentieth Century'' (University of Arizona Press; 2011) 315 pages; the environmental, social, economic, and political history of the region. * Hurt, R. Douglas. ''The Great Plains during World War II.'' University of Nebraska Press. 2008. Pp. xiii, 507. * Mills, David W. ''Cold War in a Cold Land: Fighting Communism on the Northern Plains'' (2015) Col War era
excerpt
* Peirce, Neal R. ''The Great Plains States of America: People, Politics, and Power in the Nine Great Plains States'' (1973) * Raban, Jonathan. ''Bad Land: An American Romance''. Vintage Departures, division of Vintage Books, New York, 1996. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Nonfiction. * Rees, Amanda. ''The Great Plains Region: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures'' (2004) * Stegner, Wallace. ''Wolf Willow: A History, a Story, and a Memory of the Last Plains Frontier'', Viking Compass Book, New York, 1966, trade paperback, * Wishart, David J. (ed.). ''Encyclopedia of the Great Plains'', University of Nebraska Press, 2004,
complete text online


External links


Kansas Heritage Group: ''Native Prairie, Preserve, Flowers, and Research''



University of Nebraska-Lincoln: ''Center for Great Plains Studies''
*
Oklahoma Digital Maps: Digital Collections of Oklahoma and Indian Territory
{{Authority control Ecoregions of the United States Physiographic provinces Plains of Canada Plains of the United States Regions of Canada Regions of the United States Regions of the Western United States Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands in the United States