Kansas History
Land Surface, Geological and Rivers

• Kansas Culture
• Define culture
• How do we get culture
• Heritage
• Environment
• Climate, landscape, plants, animals
• Technology
• Outside influences

• Primeval Kansas
• How has Kansas changed?
• What did it look like before man?
• What did it look like to early man?

• Kansas 34th state admitted into the Union
• -- January 29, 1861
• -- 14th largest state

• Physical geography-
• Study of environment/land, climate
• Environment of Kansas is composed of
• Land-Climate-Living things
  
• Land Surface: Topography
• Study of the terrain – the ups and downs, hills and valleys
• ( yes there are hills and valleys in Kansas)

• Once the bottom of inland Sea
• The fossil record shows that much of Kansas was covered by water.
• Sedimentary rock is what is relied on for proof

• The Rocky Mountains to the west and the Mississippi River to the east

• Kansas has 11 distinct surface regions

• Study the history of land through geology
• Look at rocks and layers of earth
• Tell the story of the past

• Ozark Plateau / Residual Shale
• Mining area, streams, timber, minimal farming. Limestone, chert, flint.
• Lead and zinc laden water seeped into limestone cracks.
• Lead mining
• Galena and Baxter Springs

• Cherokee lowlands
• Contain great coal deposits
• Center of coal mining
• Ft. Scott, Arcadia, Pittsburg, Cherokee, Columbus, Parsons, Chanute

• Osage Cuestas
• Shale- made bricks in this area
• Limestone –quarried
• Natural gas pockets
• Most of eastern Kansas
• Lawrence, Emporia, Coffeyville, Independence

• Chatauqua Hills
• Greenwood, Elk, Chatauqua counties
• Sandstone deposited by ancient streams’ deltas

Rugged landscape

 

• Flint Hills
• Eldorado, Junction City, Abilene
• Limestone
• Very picturesque

• Wellington and McPherson lowlands
• Wheat farms
• Shale/gypsum/salt
• Salt mines
• Hutchison- HS = salthawks

• Red Hills
• Medicine Lodge, Coldwater
• Red shale
• Butte shaped landscape
• Funny tasting water
• Mineral deposits

• Smoky Hills
• Northcentral
• Russell/Hays/Smithcenter
• Pawnee Rock
• Limestone fence posts

• High Plains
• Sediment from ancient streams not seas
• Wash out from Rockies
• Highest elevation in Kansas also the flatest
• Mount Sunflower highest flat spot
• Lowest elevation near Coffeyville

along the Verdigris River

 

• Arkansas River lowlands
• Along the Arkansas River
• Shows the signs of erosion by both water and wind
• Great Bend

• Glaciated Region
• Northeastern Kansas
• KC, Leavenworth, Atchison
• Left over from ancient glacier
• Glacial Till
• Loess-sand and silt left by glacier
• Deposit of soil

• - Central and Mountain Times Zones
• The extreme western counties of Kansas lie in the Mountain Time Zone.
• Think about the possibilities if you lived in one of those border counties.

• Kansas is centrally located on the Continental United States

Geocentric Center near Lebanon

-- All map and land measurement start at that point

-- 1901 Bronze disc placed as historic marker

 

• Highest point - Mount Sunflower
• -- Wallace County 4108 feet high

• - Lowest point -- Near Coffeyville (Verdigris River Valley) approximately 680 feet high

• - Size 208 X 411 miles or 85,488 square miles

• Terms --
• Delta -- triangular shaped area made by mud and sand
•  
• Erosion -- process of wearing away -- mountains or soil
•  
• Glacier -- large body of ice that moves slowly down a slope or land
•  
• Glacial till -- the deposit of a glacier like sand, clay, gravel, and boulders
•  
• Loess -- deposit of soil usually very rich and often deposited by glaciers
•  
• Primeval - relating to natural state
•  
• Physical Geography - study of physical features and changes of the land
•  
• Geologist - person who studies the history of the earth by looking at rocks
•  
• Sedimentary rock - rock formed of sediment, which is the material deposited by water, wind, or glaciers
•  
• Strip Mining - mining that takes place above ground and destroys soil and vegetation
•  
• Reservoir - artificial lake where water is collected and kept for use
•  
• River - large natural stream
•  
• Stream - body of water flowing in one direction

• - Kansas Rivers flow west/east
• Drainage system for Mississippi

• The Kansas River drains the northern half of the state with: Blue, Republican, Soloman, Saline, and Smoky Hill as contributors.

• The Arkansas River drains the southern 2/3 of the state
• - Longest river in the state

• Southeast Kansas drained by: Verdigris, Neosho, Marmaton, and Marais des Cygne

• In Kansas, the Smoky Hill River is the deepest; the Blue River the best for waterpower; the Saline River the saltiest (Also saltiest in the United States)

• Kansas has 50,000 streams that are named

• Marais des Cygne
• French, meaning "Marsh of the Swan"
• Marmaton
• French, meaning "Little Pan" or "Slop Jar"

• On a navy blue field is a sunflower, the state flower. Also, the state seal and the words "Kansas". In the picture of the state seal are thirty-four stars representing the order of statehood. Above the stars is the motto "To the Stars Through Difficulties". 
• On the seal a sunrise overshadows a farmer plowing a field near his log cabin, a steamboat sailing the Kansas River, a wagon train heading west and Native Americans hunting bison.

• The nickname "Sunflower State" calls to mind the wild flowers of the plains of Kansas and the officially recognized state flower.
  (Helantheus)

• State Animal:
• American Buffalo, designated 1955
• State Bird:
• Western Meadowlark, designated 1937
• State Insect:
• The Honeybee, designated 1976
• State Flower:
• Wild Native Sunflower, adopted 1903
• State Tree:
• Cottonwood, adopted 1937
• State Reptile:
• Ornate Box Turtle, designated 1986
• State Amphibian:
• Barred Tiger Salamander, designated 1994

• Largest Cities by Population
• Wichita 329,249
• Kansas City 141,386
• Overland Park 139,685
• Topeka 118,977
• Olathe 85,035
• Lawrence 74,244

• Three main features of Kansas environment