Kansas overview

Kansas is a Midwestern state in the Central Unitedand much more precipitation than the rest of the
States. The state is named after the Kansasstate.
River that flows through it, which in turn derivedPrecipitation ranges from about 46 inches (120
its name from the Siouan word Kansa meaningcm) annually in the southeast of the state, to
"People of the south wind."about 16 inches (40 cm) in the southwest.
Located in the heartland of the country, Kansas isSnowfall ranges from around 5 inches (13 cm) in
home to the geographical center of thethe fringes of the south, to 35 inches (90 cm) in
contiguous United States. Historically home tothe far northwest. Frost free days range from
large numbers of Native Americans who huntedmore than 200 days in the south, to 130 days in
buffalo there, the state was first settled by whitethe northwest.
Americans in the 1850s. Beginning in 1854,Kansas is the 9th or 10th sunniest state in the
abolitionists from New England and pro-slaverycountry, depending on the source. The only state
settlers from neighboring Missouri rushed to theeast of Kansas which is sunnier on average is
territory to determine if Kansas would become aFlorida, coming in Sixth place. Arizona is No. 1,
free state. Known as Bleeding Kansas, the statefollowed by California, Nevada, New Mexico and
was a hotbed of violence and chaos in its earlyTexas, according to the National Weather Service.
days as these forces collided. On January 29, 1861Western Kansas is as sunny as parts of California
Kansas entered the Union as a free state. Afterand Texas.
the Civil War, the population of Kansas explodedIn spite of the freuqent sunshine throughout much
after wave of immigrants turned the desolateof the state, the state is vulnerable to strong
prairie into productive farmland. Today, Kansas isthunderstorms especially in the spring. Many of
one of the most productive agricultural states,these storms which become supercell
leading the nation in wheat production.thunderstorm clusters spawn tornadoes, often of
Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north;F3 strength or higher. Kansas averages over 50
Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; andtornadoes annually.
Colorado on the west. It is located equidistantHistory
from the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. TheFor millennia, the land that is presently Kansas
geodetic center of North America is located inwas inhabited by Native Americans. Francisco
Osborne County. This spot is used as the centralVásquez de Coronado was the first European
reference point for all maps produced by theto set foot in present-day Kansas, exploring the
government. The geographic center of the 48area in 1541. In 1803, most of Kansas was
contiguous states is located in Smith County nearsecured by the United States as part of the
Lebanon, Kansas, and the geographic center ofLouisiana Purchase. Southwest Kansas, however,
Kansas is located in Barton County.was still a part of Spain, Mexico, and the Republic
The state is divided up into 105 counties with 628of Texas until the conclusion of the
cities.Mexican-American War. From 1812 to 1821,
Kansas is one of the six states located on theKansas was part of the Missouri Territory. The
Frontier Strip.Santa Fe Trail traversed Kansas from 1821 to
Topography1880, transporting manufactured goods from
The state, lying in the great central plain of theMissouri and silver and furs from Santa Fe, New
United States, has a generally flat or undulatingMexico. Wagon ruts from the trail are still visible
surface, and on a large scale appears almosttoday.
perfectly flat[2]. However, the land displays aIn 1827, Fort Leavenworth became the first
gradual slope up from east to west; its altitudepermanent settlement of white Americans in the
above the sea ranges from 684 feet (208 m)future state. The Kansas-Nebraska Act became
along the Verdigris River at Coffeyville inlaw on May 30, 1854 establishing the U.S.
Montgomery County, to 4,039 feet (1,231 m) atterritories of Nebraska and Kansas. Kansas
Mount Sunflower, in Wallace County.Territory stretched all the way to the Continental
The Missouri River forms nearly 75 miles (120Divide and included the sites of present-day
km) of the state's northeastern boundary. TheDenver, Colorado Springs, and Pueblo.
Kansas River, formed by the junction of theSome of the first Americans to settle in Kansas
Smoky Hill and Republican rivers atTerritory were abolitionists from Massachusetts
appropriately-named Junction City, joins theand other Free-Staters, who attempted to stop
Missouri at Kansas City, after a course of 150the spread of slavery from neighboring Missouri.
miles (240 km) across the northeastern part ofDirectly presaging the American Civil War, these
the state. The Arkansas River, rising in Colorado,forces collided, entering into skirmishes that
flows with a tortuous course for nearly 500 milesearned the territory the name of Bleeding Kansas.
(800 km) across three-fourths of the state. ItKansas was admitted to the United States as a
forms, with its tributaries (the Little Arkansas,free state on January 29, 1861, making it the
Ninescah, Walnut, Cow Creek, Cimarron, Verdigris,34th state to enter the Union. By that time the
and the Neosho), the southern drainage systemviolence in Kansas had largely subsided. However,
of the state. Other important rivers are the Salineduring the Civil War, on August 21, 1863, William
and Solomon, tributaries of the Smoky Hill River;Quantrill led Quantrill's Raid into Lawrence,
the Big Blue, Delaware, and Wakarusa, which flowdestroying much of the city and killing almost two
into the Kansas River; and the Marais des Cygnes,hundred people.
a tributary of the Missouri River.After the Civil War, many veterans constructed
Kansas contains three climate types, according tohomesteads in Kansas. Many African Americans
the Köppen climate classification: humidalso looked to Kansas as the land of "John Brown"
continental, semiarid steppe, and humid subtropical.and led by men like Benjamin "Pap" Singleton
The eastern two-thirds of the state has a humidbegan establishing black colonies in the state. At
continental climate, with cold winters and hotthe same time, the Chisholm Trail was opened
summers. Most of the precipitation falls in theand the Wild West era commenced in Kansas.
summer and spring.Wild Bill Hickok was a deputy marshal at Fort Riley
The western one-third of the state has a semiaridand a marshal at Hays and Abilene. Dodge City
steppe climate. Summers are hot, and often verywas another wild cowboy town in the late 19th
hot. Winters are cold in the northwest and cool tocentury. In one year alone, 8 million head of cattle
mild in the southwest. The region is semiarid,from Texas boarded trains in Dodge City bound
receiving on average only about 16 inches (40for the East, earning Dodge the nickname "Queen
cm) of precipitation per year. Chinook winds in theof the Cowtowns." Bat Masterson and Wyatt
winter can warm western Kansas all the way intoEarp were both lawmen in Dodge City. In part as
the 80 degree Fahrenheit (25 °C) range.a response to the violence perpetrated by
The far south central and southeastern reachescowboys, on February 19, 1881, Kansas became
of the state have a humid subtropical climate,the first U.S. state to prohibit all alcoholic
with long, hot summers and short, mild wintersbeverages.