Great Plains
Flat expanse in western North America / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flatland in North America. The region is located just to the east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include the mixed grass prairie, the tallgrass prairie between the Great Lakes and Appalachian Plateau, and the Taiga Plains and Boreal Plains ecozones in Northern Canada. "Great Plains" or Western Plains also describe the ecoregion of the Great Plains, or alternatively the western portion of the Great Plains.
For other uses, see Great Plains (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with a southwestern portion of the Great Plains, the Llano Estacado, or another geographic region that overlaps the Great Plains, the Midwest.
Quick Facts Location, Area ...
Great Plains | |
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Blooming rabbitbrush on the Great Plains Prairie dog native to Great Plains, crucial keystone species North Dakota primitive lush Prairie Mixed plains grass prairie near Fort Smith, Montana Missouri River valley in central North Dakota | |
Coordinates: 40°N 100°W | |
Location | Canada and the United States |
Area | |
• Total | 1,100,000 sq mi (2,800,000 km2) |
Dimensions | |
• Length | 2,000 mi (3,200 km) |
• Width | 500 mi (800 km) |
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The Great Plains lie across both Central United States and Western Canada, encompassing:
- Most or all of the U.S. states of Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota;
- Eastern parts of the U.S. states of Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming;
- Parts of the U.S. states of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas;
- Sometimes western parts of Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri;
- The southern portions of the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.