Inventions and Adaptions
Challenge
The plains were nearly
treeless. There was no
wood to build homes or
burn for fuel.
Adaptation or Invention
Built their homes out of sod
(top layer of prairie grass)
There was little rainfall.
Farmers needed water to
grow crops.
Farmers had to dig deep
wells to irrigate their crops.
Windmills needed to pump
the water from deep in the
wells.
Dry farming: plowed deeply
The prairie sod was so
tough it broken the wooden
plows.
Steel plow
The land and climate of the
Great Plains made growing
crops difficult.
Grass plains were ideal for
grazing cattle: Some
farmers switched to cattle
ranching.
Cattle often wandered onto
nearby farms destroying
crops.
Barbed wire
Settlers needed supplies
from the east. Farmers
needed a way to transport
cattle and crops to markets.
Transcontinental Railroad