USII 2.a The Great Plains – Week 4 Study Guide for LAA1

Climate & Physical Features Flatlands that rise gradually from east to west (lack of trees) Land eroded by wind & water Low rainfall Frequent dust storms

Inventions: Barbed wire Steel Plow Windmills Railroads

Barbed Wire Used for fencing because of the lack of wood; needed to keep cattle in and to keep cowboys and cattle drives off the settlers’ property.

Windmills Lack of water; windmills and mechanical well-drilling machines allowed farmers to get enough water for their families and crops.

Steel Plow Enabled farmers to cut through the thick, tangled roots of the tough prairie soil in order to farm the land.

Railroads Transported settlers and goods to the Great Plains; they provided a way for farmers and ranchers to transport cattle and crops raised on the Great Plains to markets in the East with buyers hungry for beef and grains.

Adaptations: Sod Houses Dry Farming Beef Cattle Raising Wheat Farming

Sod Houses Because of lack of wood, settlers built homes with sod; the houses were enhanced or replaced over time with lumber and other materials brought to the Great Plains by railroad.

Dry Farming: Developed to farm the drier lands of the Great Plains; soil is plowed deeply to break the soil and to slow the evaporation; or land is plowed, but not planted for a season, allowing it to hold moisture.

Wheat Farming: Wheat was a hardy crop that adapted to the dry growing conditions of the Great Plains.

Beef Cattle Raising: Cattle could be raised on large areas of open grassland that were unsuitable for growing crops; thousands of cattle were herded from area to area during the “open range” period of the Great Plains.