The Kansas
Journey
Chapter 1: Home on the Range
History and Geography
 History tells us about the people who came before us
while geography introduces the natural features of
Earth.
 Geography studies location, place, regions, movement,
and the interaction between humans and the
environment.
 Both history and geography look at where and how
people live.
Location
 Kansas is called “America’s heartland”, because it truly
is the center of the United States.
 We use latitude and longitude to find the absolute
location. Kansas is between the 37th and 40th parallels
north latitude and between 94 and 102 degrees west
longitude.
 The relative location explains where a place is in
relation to other places.
Place
 All locations have different
physical features, which are
the natural landforms and
characteristics of a place.
 Kansas has rivers, hills, soil,
and rocks.
 Kansas rises at an incline of
10 feet per mile, east to west.
 About 1/3 of Kansas is prairie,
on of the most complicated
ecosystems.
A Kansas prairie.
The Permian Sea
 The physical features of
Kansas are the result of an
inland sea.
 Kansas was covered by a
shallow ocean of salt water,
the Permian Sea.
 The creatures that lived in the
sea died and organic material
decayed and compressed to
form limestone. Deposits of
natural resources like coal,
oil, and natural gas formed.
This is a picture of the Permian sea
floor.
Tallgrass prairie National
Preserve
 Land that looks like a
sea of grass was formed
out of the floor of the
Permian Sea.
 The Flint Hills are
formed with limestone
and shale deposits.
 Visitors of the National
Preserve can see land
much like early
American Indians and
explorers did.
 400 different plants, 150
species of birds, 39
reptiles and amphibians,
and 31 species of
mammals live in the
preserve.
Water
 Underground in western
Kansas lies a reservoir called
the Ogallala Aquifer. It runs
under other states, too. It is
commonly used for irrigation.
 Cheyenne Bottoms is one of
the few natural lakes in KS.
But, it no longer is completely
natural.
 Water levels of Cheyenne
Bottoms have to be altered.
Half of the bird species of the
US can be found here on their
seasonal migrations. These
birds include endangered
whooping crane, peregrine
falcon, and bald eagles.
Lakes
 Kansas has few
natural lakes.
 All the lakes we see
today are the result
of flood-control
projects.
 Some lakes are for
drinking water and
irrigation.
Cheyenne Bottoms
 One of the few
natural lakes in
Kansas.
 Half the bird species
can be found here on
their seasonal
migrations.
Protecting Our Water
 Kansas sued
Colorado over water
rights.
 The U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in favor
of Kansas.
Vs.
Grasslands
 Characterized by tall or short grasses.
 Big and Little Bluestems are most
common.
 The grasses protect the soil from erosion.
 Kansas is home to 1,600 varieties of
blooming plants.
Prairie Fires
 Fires are part of the life cycle of the
prairie.
 Today they are set by man.
 Promotes growth.
Animals
 700 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals can be found in
Kansas.
Insects
 3,500 different Insects can be found in
Kansas.
 Only 1% are harmful to plants.
 Many insects help pollinate flowers.
 The most destructive insect is the
grasshopper.
 In the 1870’s grasshoppers destroyed
most of the Kansas crops.
Climate
 The climate of Kansas is
dramatic because it is
changeable, extreme, and
unpredictable.
 Wind chill is a dominant
feature of Kansas climate.
How the temperature feels is
affected by the speed of the
wind and the moisture in it.
 Precipitation is measuring the
amount of moisture that
reaches the ground from rain,
snow, sleet, hail, and mist.
The average is around 40
inches in eastern KS, and
less than 18 inches in western
KS.
Regions of Kansas
 A region is an area with
one or more features
that make it different
from surrounding areas.
 Kansas is divided into 11
physiographic regions.
 High Plains – Flatlands
formed by sediments
 Red Hills – Hills red with
iron oxide.
 Glaciated Region –
Glaciers that once
covered part of the US.
 Ozark Plateau – Oldest
surface rock in the state.
 Arkansas River
Lowlands – Formed of
rocks from the Rocky
Mountains.
 Wellington-McPherson
Lowlands – Grass
covered sand dunes.
Underground water and
salt.
 Cherokee Lowlands –
Fertile soil.
Regions of Kansas
 Chautauqua Hills –  Osage Cuestas –
Low hills topped with
East facing cliffs with
sandstone.
gentle slopes to the
west.
 Smoky Hills –
Sandstone,
limestone, and chalk.
 Flint Hills Uplands –
Erosion of limestone
and shale formed
rolling hills.
Interaction of Humans and
the Environment
 From the beginning
people have used
natural resources from
the earth. Trees were
cut down, stone
removed from the
ground, and people
drank the water from the
rivers. The Pawnee built
earth lodges and the
Wichita made grass
homes. Settlers came to
Kansas and built homes
of sod and wood.
 Today we change the
environment to meet our
needs by removing oil,
gas, coal, zinc and other
resources with the help
of technology.
Strip mining.
Movement of People,
Products, and Ideas
 People travel from place to place, to
share what they know and ideas.
Kansas is a crossroad.
 As people travel through a place, so do
ideas and information.