Tell Me: What Does the State of Kansas Look Like? (Kansas City: fit in, living in)

[pioneer88]

Oh. And the forest by Toronto Lake is known as the cross timbers. It's an ecosystem that stretches into Oklahoma and N. Texas. Made up of black jack oak, post oak etc. and bluestem prairie. One of the reasons the trees are so dense is the same reason the prairie survives, fire. As the undergrowth was burned out smaller trees came back close together. This dense "jungle" is actually written about as pioneers crossed to the west as a forest of iron because it was difficult to get through the dense foliage.

[empires228]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

Thank you for the links. So the main differences in the landscape are found in the West and East? Like I said before, I was very surprised by Gove Co. as it looked nothing like what I pictured KS looking like. Are the people friendly or very leery of "outsiders"? My family is from Iowa and the people were friendly but then again my family was from there. I just know I'm tired of the monotony in Florida(South). The landscape is bland(all the overdevelopment has ruined the natural beauty) and the weather is always the same(hot or hotter) except for a few weeks in the Winter. Plus the people(most) are very unfriendly and crime is epidemic. It used to be a nice place before all the overdevelopment and the influx of criminals. I long for a safe, stable, and friendly place to call my home. Thanks again!

Gove Couty and Scott County are so beautiful! I swear there are more cows then people there in Gove and looking at the county seats population of like 8o its most likley true.

[SmalltownKSgirl]

Originally Posted by Ketabcha

The following pretty well says it all about whether people are friendly to new folks: (this is true everywhere in the US)

A man owned a gas station outside of a town just off a major highway. One day a car pulling a trailer pulled up and the driver said "We are moving to this town. How are the people here?"

The owner said "Well, what were folks like where you came from?

Driver: They were unfriendly and hard to know....not very nice people.

Owner: I think you will find the same kind of people here.

The next week another car pulling a trailer pulled into the station.

The driver said: We're moving to this town. What are people like here?

Owner: Well, what were folks like where you came from?

Driver: Oh, they were wonderful. We made a lot of friends there. Folks were friendly and welcoming.

Owner: I think you can count on finding the same kind of people here.

Absolutely right!

Also, did anyone mention Cheyenne Bottoms? From the web: "Considered one of the most important shorebird migration stopover points in the Western Hemisphere, Cheyenne Bottoms is the largest interior marsh in the United States. Here, in waters that average less than a foot deep, hundreds of thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl rest and refuel on their migration journeys. Bordered on the north, south, and west by steep bluffs, the bottoms lie in a natural basin that traps runoff from the Blood and Deception creeks. From atop these bluffs, you get a bird’s eye view of the impressive extent of this natural banquet hall."

[bzoller]

if you are wondering about eastern kansas it is hilly and forested, much different from the rest the state.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by bzoller

if you are wondering about eastern kansas it is hilly and forested, much different from the rest the state.

No, not forested compared to anywhere in the eastern US. However, it is more forested compared to the rest of KS.

[kansas sky]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

No, not forested compared to anywhere in the eastern US. However, it is more forested compared to the rest of KS.

http://www.kansasgis.org/kgcc/docs/d...p_finalrep.pdf

Floodplain forests and floodplain woodlands dominate the wooded
landscape, although there are also substantial areas of upland oak-dominated forests.

I don't think anyone thinks that Kansas is like the eastern U.S. But this is Kansas, and yes we have Kansas-type forest here.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by kansas sky

http://www.kansasgis.org/kgcc/docs/d...p_finalrep.pdf

Floodplain forests and floodplain woodlands dominate the wooded
landscape, although there are also substantial areas of upland oak-dominated forests.

I don't think anyone thinks that Kansas is like the eastern U.S. But this is Kansas, and yes we have Kansas-type forest here.

Yes, forests tend to predominate in close proximity to RIVERS and water. Only about 5% of the state is forested, which is in the bottom five states in the country. Before European settlement certain areas of Kasnas had higher tree coverage, but many of those areas were converted over to cropland.

[knrstz]

Kansas isn't the most beautiful state but I just drove from San Francisco to Wichita. California, Nevada, Utah and Colorado all have very ordinary parts too. With the exception of maybe Nevada, the other 3 are considered some of the more beautiful states out there. Kansas has some pretty parts just not many breathtaking parts.

[ArmyWife94e]

I have lived all over the world and now live on Fort Riley ... I learned a place is what you make of it, however some people can never find the good in a place and they will always be miserable. I really love Kansas, it may not have the most breath taking views but it has a beauty of its own and is so full of history. I personally would rather be here than in any big city, I love the Flint Hills and the open prairies

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by lilred0005

I've always been a geography nut, in fact it's one of the things I love about America, there's so much variety. Now, I always thought Kansas was flat with miles of corn and wheat until I saw a pic of Gove Co. and the Monument Rocks. I was very surprised to see land that resembled Colorado or Utah. So, please tell me about Kansas' geography. Is there a stark difference between Western and Eastern KS or Northern or Southern KS. Are there hills, ect? Any thick forests in KS? Thank you very much as I am curious and am also looking across the US for a place to relocate, my family is from the Midwest and we are looking closely at those states as we really miss the people.

I travelled across Kansas this summer, mostly along I-70 west from Kansas City to Oakley, and then on US 40 into Colorado. Eastern Kansas has a lot more woods especially around the Kansas City area and the geography there to me seemed similar to Missouri. The trees thin out going west but most of Kansas was not flat. The Flint Hills were gently rolling, lush green hills with few trees but with a unique kind of beauty. There are a lot of unused grasslands, some of it protected, as well as ranching activites though I saw less crop farming in Kansas than Missouri or Illinois.

It was also very windy on the plains, hence the wind farm industry setting shop there....there was a huge wind farm around Ellsworth, KS. (we made that a stop on our trip since Rascal Flatts sang about it....the locals were surprised their town got randomly chosen and the lyrics about it are actually not accurate and the band has never been there.) Western Kansas gets a lot more flat. Once you get pass I'd say Salinas or Abilene, the towns get very far apart compared to other parts of the Midwest like eastern Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, or Ohio and more typical of the large distances in the true western states. Eastern Colorado is actually a lot like Kansas......only a third of CO is mountainous which surprises a lot of folks. I think the midwest ends abruptly when you hit Colorado Springs and Denver.

However the most striking thing is the elevation rise going west. We never felt we were climbing any hills or mountains between Kansas City and Colorado Springs but in between we bascially climbed a mile in elevation....the gentle slopes definitely were misleading.