The Great Plains
Technological advances during the 19th
century allowed people to live in more
challenging environments.
Physical Features of
the Great Plains
• Flatlands that rise gradually from east
to west
Physical Features of
the Great Plains
• Land Eroded by Wind and Water
Physical Features of
the Great Plains
• Low Rainfall
Physical Features of
the Great Plains
• Frequent Dust Storms
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Because of New
Technologies…
• People saw the Great Plains not as a
“treeless wasteland” but as a vast area
to be settled
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Barbed wire: allowed farmers to fence
in farm land and eliminated open range
cattle grazing
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Steel Plows: allowed farmers to farm
more land and to plant more crops
Attach
cow or
horse here
to plow
the earth.
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Dry Farming: allowed crops to grow in
very dry conditions with little water.
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Sod Homes: allowed families to build
homes from the soil on the treeless
plains
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Beef Cattle Raising: provided cattle
that were shipped east to factories for
processing
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Wheat Farming: provided grain to be
shipped to markets in the East.
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Windmills: provided water for families,
crops, and livestock on the plains
What new technologies
allowed settlement?
• Railroads: shipped raw materials
produced on the Great Plains to
markets for processing and sale in the
East.
Advances in
transportation linked
resources, products and
markets.
• Transportation
– Moving natural resources (copper, lead) to
eastern factories
– Moving iron ore deposits to sites of steel
mills (Pittsburgh)
– Transporting finished products to national
markets
Examples of
Manufacturing areas:
• Textile Industry: New England
Textile Braiding Machine
Examples of
Manufacturing areas:
• Automobile Industry: Detroit
Duryea Brothers'
automobile
factory
1896,
Massachusetts
Examples of
Manufacturing areas:
• Steel Industry:
Pittsburgh