What would you think about moving into this region?
Living on the Great Plains Vast prairie in the Midwest Region of the US
Living on the Great Plains The states that are part of the Great Plains
Living on the Great Plains What did people think about the Great Plains in the beginning? “Treeless wasteland” “Ocean of grass” “Big Sky” “Great American Desert” Unsuitable for habitation
Living on the Great Plains
Vast, open gradually rising (East to West) grassland (prairie)
Living on the Great Plains Low rainfall Dry area most of the year
Living on the Great Plains Few rivers Trees along streams and rivers
Living on the Great Plains Frequent dust storms
Living on the Great Plains Land eroded by wind and water
Living on the Great Plains Tornadoes in the spring
Living on the Great Plains Winters with blizzards
Living on the Great Plains "Blizzard Warning": winds expected to exceed 30 knots (35 mph) and falling or blowing snow will reduce visibility to less than a quarter-mile for at least 3 hours "Stockmen's Warning": when severe winter weather threatens cattle in major ranching areas "Traveler's Warnings": when winter conditions make travel difficult or impossible "Blizzard of 1997": killed nearly $4.7 million worth of livestock, caused $6 million in farm property damage, and cost farmers $21 million for extra feed consumption 1-2 feet of snow typical in a blizzard, in a swath hundreds of miles wide and hundreds of miles long Due to the low water content of the snow, blowing and drifting snow is an added problem; snow drifts can reach feet in a blizzard
Living on the Great Plains Why if it was so “uninhabitable?” Free land after 1862 Inventions made it usable Adaptations made it usable
Living on the Great Plains Free land from the US Government
Living on the Great Plains Steel Plow John Deere
Living on the Great Plains Barbed Wire
Living on the Great Plains Windmills
Living on the Great Plains The Reaper and the Combine
Living on the Great Plains Wheat Farming
Living on the Great Plains Dry farming-plow and plant in the fall
Living on the Great Plains Dry farming-fields covered by snow
Living on Great Plains Dry farming-new growth in the spring
Living on the Great Plains Dry farming-ripening wheat crop
Living on the Great Plains Dry farming-harvesting wheat
Living on the Great Plains Beef cattle raising
Living on the Great Plains Sod houses
Living on the Great Plains Sod house (soddie)
Living on the Great Plains Railroad
Living on the Great Plains Railroad
Living on the Great Plains Why was living on the Great Plains seen as a challenge to the first Americans crossing the Great Plains? What inventions and new technology changed those ideas? What ways did settlers use adaptations to make it possible to live on the Great Plains?