Page 432 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - USA

430  THE GREA T PLAINS

The Great Plains at a Glance

Centering on the midway longitude, the 100th
meridian – which divides the United States roughly
into East and West – this region is the essence of
Middle America. Stretching from Canada to Texas, and Williston Minot Devils
sloping gradually from the foot of the Rocky Mountains Lake
to the floodplain of the Mississippi River, the Great NORTH DAKOTA Grand
Plains covers seven states, from North and South (See pp438–39) Forks
Dakota across Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, and Jamestown
Oklahoma. This largely rural and agricultural region is a Bismarck
place of small towns, wide-open spaces, and distant Bowman Fargo
horizons. Museums, historic sights, and entertainment
options can be found in cities such as Tulsa, St. Louis,
Kansas City, Sioux Falls, and Oklahoma City. Aberdeen
Mobridge
Theodore Roosevelt SOUTH DAKOTA
(See pp440–43)
National Park (see p439),
in North Dakota, was Pierre Huron Brookings
created in 1947 as a Rapid City
memorial in the president’s
honor. Today, herds of
bison can frequently Sioux
be seen roaming through Falls Spencer
the park’s stark but Chadron Valentine
beautiful badlands. Sioux City Waterloo Dubuque
Scotts Bluff
NEBRASKA Cedar Rapids
(See pp444–47) Des Moines Davenport
Iowa City
Ogallala North Platte IOWA
Omaha (See pp448-49)
Lincoln
Kearney
Black Hills (see pp442–3),
South Dakota’s main Quincy
attraction, is home to St.Joseph
Mount Rushmore Colby
National Memorial, with
its giant, sculpted heads Topeka Kansas City Columbia
of four US presidents. Hays
Crazy Horse Memorial KANSAS Salina MISSOURI St. Louis
pays tribute to Native (See pp454-55) (See pp450-53)
American heroes.
Hutchinson Lebanon
Dodge City
Wichita
Springfield
Poplar Bluff
Enid
Tulsa
Clinton Muskogee
Oklahoma
City
Scotts Bluff (see p446) is a major landmark on
the Nebraska portion of the Oregon Trail. Vast, OKLAHOMA
grassy expanses of open range still contain Lawton (See pp456-57)
reminders of 19th-century overland routes,
along which pioneer settlers traveled Ardmore
westward. The Oregon Trail from
Independence, Missouri, followed the
North Platte River as it headed northwest
across the Rocky Mountains.
Bison crossing the Little Missouri River in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

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