9781422286111

14

Lower Plains: Kansas, Nebraska

which forms 75 miles (121 km) of Kansas’s northeastern border with Missouri State, and the Arkansas River, which snakes across western and southern Kansas for nearly 500 miles (800 km). History Kansas is named after the Kansa, or Kaw, tribe of Indians. They migrated west from the Ohio Valley in the early 1700s, ending up in what is now northeastern Kansas. The Kaw, or “People of the South Wind,” lived in villages along the river valleys, where they cultivated corn, beans, and squash. Periodically, they left their vil- lages to hunt buffalo in the western reaches of the state. By the mid-18th century, the Kaw had become the dominant tribe in Kansas. Before their arrival, however, the area was occupied by Pawnee and Wichita Indians. These were the tribes that the first European explorers encountered when they arrived here in 1541, led by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado. Coronado’s interest in the Plains

grine falcon, whooping crane, and bald eagle. Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest inland wetland in the United States. Kansas is also home to one of the longest prairie rivers in the nation: the Kansas River in the northeast of the state. Also known as the Kaw, the Kansas River served as an important transportation hub for pioneers mov- ing into the frontier. Other important rivers include the Missouri River, Mount Sunflower, located near the western border with Colorado, is the highest point in Kansas. Because the state’s terrain gradually rises from east to west, the “summit” is virtually indistinguishable from the surrounding area. It is 4,039 feet (1,231 m) above sea level.