The Great Plains
Where are the Great Plains?
Photo: Michael Forsberg
The Great Plains stretch all the way from Texas to
Montana and up into Canada.
Are we a part of the Great Plains?
Lea County, NM
What is the Great Plains?
• A flat, dry land with low rainfall.
• A land covered with tall prairie grass or
farms where they grow crops like wheat.
Animals of the Great Plains
• There are many different kinds of animals
that live within the Great Plains.
Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum
American Bison
Photo by: Mila Zinkova
The Black-tailed
Prairie Dog
© Mike Lockhart
Black-Footed Ferret
Photo: Michael Forsberg
Great Plains Zoo and Delbridge Museum
Brown Bear
Greater Prairie-Chicken
http://www.cosmosmith.com/great_plains_wolves.asp
Pronghorn
Great Plains Wolf/Buffalo
Wolf
Photo: Michael Forsberg
Burrowing Owl
© Daniel J. Cox/NaturalExposures.com / WWFU
Greater Sage-Grouse
Jack Rabbit
Photo: Nick Lyon
Red Fox
Porcupine
Piping Plover
photo: Toos
Raccoon
Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
• Do we have any of these animals here where we live?
• Which ones?
History of the Great Plains
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Many Native American tribes lived on the Great Plains
long before settlers arrived in the mid-1800s.
Most of these Native American tribes were nomadic
tribes, which means they followed the buffalo herds
across the land.
The Great Plains was once home to many wild buffalo
herds but they were hunted mainly for their hides,
which were turned into leather for shoes and other
products.
Many animals were hunted by Native Americans and
pioneers for food or sport which caused some of
these animals to go extinct or almost extinct.
• In the 1860s the homestead act was passed. The act
encouraged people to move west into the Great Plains
area.
• The arrival of settlers on the plains led to the
destruction of much of the land due to farming and
ranching.
• The Great Plains is also known
for high winds. These high
winds can stir up dust storms
on the Great Plains. In the
1930s this area was called the
Dust Bowl.
There is very little rain fall in the
plains which makes it a very dry
area and easy for wind to pick up
dirt.
Great Plains
New Mexico
Colorado
Nebraska
Montana
• What are some similarities to where we live?
• What are some differences?
Review
• Early people living within the Great Plains hunted many of
the animals living in the prairie.
• People began migrating to the Great Plains in the 1860s and
settling in the prairie, eliminating further the wildlife.
• The Great Plains became farm and ranch land.
• However there is still another problem that the Great
Plains face: drought or no rain.
• Today only a small portion of the Great Plains wildlife
remains.
• What are some things that can help to fix some of these
problems?
• Better farming practices that do not harm the land
such as crop rotation and irrigating of the land.
• Protecting wildlife animals by not hunting them in
excess and protecting their home.