The+Great+Plains+and+Prairies+2015



__ 1. Favorite Tidbit of History: The Western Interior Seaway __

Despite appearances, the Great Plains were once a shallow inland sea known as the Western Interior Seaway. During the Cretaceous Period about 145 million years ago, the Interior Seaway extended from the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, and from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to the Artic Ocean. This split North America into two separate continents; Laramidia in the west and Appalachia in the east. Paleontological evidence shows that the sea was tropical in nature, teeming with marine life. The fauna included numerous creatures, ranging from ancient marine reptiles to the first modern birds. Around 65 million years ago, the Interior Seaway began to recede until about 25 million years ago. At this time, changing climate, marine deposits, and flatlands left by the sea, gave way to the grasslands that we see today. It’s interesting to think that the grasslands we see today were made possible because of a sea that once stretched across the middle of North America. Map of Laramidia and Appalachia  (phenomena.nationalgeographic.com) __ 2. Iconic Site: Monument Rocks __



The first site designated as a National Natural Landmark by the Department of the Interior, Monument Rocks are massive chalk formations left behind approximately 80 million years ago by the retreat of the Western Interior Seaway. The landforms were later named as one of the 8 wonders of Kansas. The formation itself is located 6 miles off the main highway in the area, and is only accessible by gravel roads. The arches of the formation reach a maximum height of 70 feet. The area around Monument Rocks support several forms of wildlife as well, including Pronghorns, coyotes, and prairie dogs.

__3. Immigration__

With the arrival of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, a Spanish conquistador, the first recorded history of encounter between Europeans and Native Americans in the Great Plains occurred in Texas, Kansas and Nebraska from 1540-1542. In that same time period, Hernando de Soto crossed a west-northwest direction in what is now Oklahoma and Texas. Today this is known as the De Soto Trail. The Spanish thought the Great Plains were the location of the mythological Quivira and Cíbola, a place said to be rich in gold.

Over the next one hundred years, founding of the fur trade brought thousands of ethnic Europeans into the Great Plains. Fur trappers from France, Spain, Britain, Russia and the young United States made their way across much of the region, making regular contacts with Native Americans. After the United States acquired the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and conducted the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804-1806, more information about the Plains became available and various pioneers entered the areas.

Manuel Lisa, based in St. Louis, established a major fur trading site at his Fort Lisa on the Missouri River in Nebraska. Fur Trading Posts were often the basis of later settlements. Through the 19th century, more European Americans and Europeans migrated to the Great Plains as part of a vast westward expansion of population. New settlements became dotted across the Great Plains.

The new immigrants also brought diseases against which the Native Americans had no resistance. Between a half and two-thirds of the Plains Indians are thought to have died of smallpox by the time of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase.

In the late 1770s, during the American Revolutionary War, smallpox returned once more and killed thousands. Peter Kalm in his Travels in North America, described how in that period, the dying Indian villages became overrun with wolves feasting on the corpses and weakened survivors. It has been alleged that smallpox was used also used as a weapon by the British.By 1832, the federal government of the United States established a smallpox vaccination program for Native Americans.

{Sources}

[|__https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_smallpox__]

[|__https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains#History__]

[|__http://www.understandingrace.org/images/482x270/gov/eastern_southern_immigration.jpg__]

__4. Beautiful Places: Santa Elena Canyon, Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, and Falls Park:__

With over 800K acres, Big Bend National Park is one of the largest national parks in the US. It’s also one of the most desolate, with only 300-350K visitors annually. You may be tempted to hit the Chimneys and Marufo Vega Trails first, but you should really make your way over to the winding valley that separates the US and Mexico. Flowing with the waters of the Rio Grande River and lined by towering 1,000ft cliffs, the canyon’s water can get as shallow as 2ft at points, allowing you to both hoof it and paddle it.
 * Santa Elena Canyon: Texas**

 Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, located in southwestern Oklahoma near Lawton, has protected unique wildlife habitats since 1901 and is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service system.
 * Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge: Oklahoma**


 * Falls Park: South Dakota**



The Falls of the Big Sioux River have been a focus of life in the region throughout history. Native American peoples were the first to visit the falls and bring stories of them to European explorers. They have been the center of recreation and industry since the founding of the city in 1856.

{Sources}

[|__https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/houston/the-12-most-beautiful-places-in-texas-you-didn-t-know-existed__] [|__http://www.fws.gov/refuge/wichita_mountains/__] http://www.boomsbeat.com/articles/3184/20140428/breathtaking-photos-of-the-sioux-falls-park-south-dakota.htm

__5. Literature: //The Grapes of Wrath//__//://



// The Grapes of Wrath //, by John Steinbeck, follows the story of the Joad family, who must escape from their home in Oklahoma during one of the most devastating natural disasters in the Great Plains history, the Dust Bowl.

The novel explores varies adult themes that come with the hardships of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression that preceded it, including how badly families in this area were affected by these occurrences, and how the promise of a better life elsewhere isn’t always the best option, as the trials the Joads had to overcome weren’t all worth it by the time they reached California.

John Steinbeck stated that he wanted to bring attention to the effect the Great Depression had on lower class families, which earned the book critical acclaim and reception. The novel is commonly read and discussed in American English Literature classes, and has also been adapted into a Hollywood film.

__6. Big City: Austin, Texas__:



Austin is the capital of Texas, and the 11th most populated state in the United States. Austin is the second largest capital city, after Phoenix, Arizona. Austin is estimated to have a population of about 913,000. The city is the cultural and economic center of the Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area.

Austin was first settled around 1830, as settlers moved up the Colorado River. In 1839, the area was officially chosen as the capital of the Republic of Texas’ capital, under the name Waterloo. It was later changed to Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, sometimes called the ‘Father of Texas’.

The city hosts a multitude of government employees, foreign and domestic students, musicians, high-end blue-collar jobs, and businesses. Residents of the city are called Austinites.