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The Midwest Region

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The Midwest Region The Midwest Region Land and Water There are twelve states in the Midwest region. The Midwest region lies in the middle of the United States. The Great Lakes form part of the Midwest's northern border. These lakes are so large they hold one fourth of all the fresh water in the world—over 6 quadrillion gallons! That is enough to cover the United States with water 12 feet deep! The land of the Midwest is very different from the land in the regions to its east. Almost all of the Midwest is flat, gently rolling land with very few trees, called the Central Plains. Prairie grasses cover much of the land. The prairie grasses help make the soil extremely fertile. The Central Plains are low, but rise slowly west of the Mississippi River. The Great Plains are to the west of the Central Plains. Here the soil isn't as fertile, and there is less rainfall. The land is higher, drier, and rockier. The Great Plains are mostly dry grassland with few trees. The Black Hills in South Dakota are the hilliest part of the Great Plains. The Black Hills have The Badlands very high peaks made of granite. of North There are areas of the Dakota are Great Plains that are very dry. covered with These areas are called the beautiful rock Badlands because the land is formations. useless for farming and many other human purposes. In the Badlands, there are steep slopes made of clay and soft rock. When it rains, the clay and rock erode, creating canyons and many strange shapes in the soft rock. These exposed rock layers are often wonderful places in which to find fossils. Water in the Midwest is very important. Four of the five Great Lakes touch the Midwest region. Rivers and canals connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Ships can travel from the Atlantic Ocean to cities along the Great Lakes through these waterways. Most major cities in the Midwest formed near these waterways. Before railroads, travel on waterways was faster and less expensive than traveling on land. Although the Midwest has flat land, the Great Lakes are not all at the same level. Locks are needed to lift and lower ships from one lake Over 12,000 ships pass through the Soo to the next. Locks are parts of waterways that are Locks each year. closed off by gates. Michigan's Soo Locks lift ships from Lake Huron up 21 feet to Lake Superior. The Soo Locks are the busiest locks in the world, with over 12,000 ships passing through each year. The Mississippi River is one of our country's most important waterways. The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States. The Mississippi River runs through the Central Plains to the Gulf of Mexico. The Missouri River and the Ohio River are tributaries of the Mississippi River. A tributary is a river or stream that flows into another river. The Mississippi River is a busy water highway for boats and barges. The riverbanks are lined with levees, high river banks that stop the river from overflowing. The Mississippi River runs across the United States, all the way from the Midwest region to the Gulf of Mexico. .
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