General Context

North Dakota is divided in half by the Missouri Escarpment--the soil line, grass line, and climate line (100th Meridian).

Western Half (Great Plains): grazing and wheat land with light rainfall, short grasses, and dark-brown Chestnut soils.

Eastern half (Drift Prairie/RRV): semi-arid extension of a cold, humid continental zone running from Maine to Manitoba.  Tall grass country with black Chernozem soils.

1.Semi-Arid

2. Extreme Weather--“Dakota is a great land for extremes, either too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry”

3. Natural Resources

4. Plants and Animals

Major Geographic Divisions

1. Red River Valley

2. Missouri Plateau

3. Great Plains

4. Badlands