Chapter 11: The Great Plains

The Great Plains Region

This week the topic is The Great Plains. Geographically, The Great Plains is located in the middle of the United States.  The region actually also extends into portions of Canada.  On the United States side, The Great Plains extend from Montana and North Dakota down to the northern tip of Texas.  The area includes parts of, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.  On the western side, the region is stopped by the protruding Rocky Mountains.  Rehoboth Beach, Delaware is obviously not a part of The Great Plans; therefore, we will look to compare the two regions and point out some differences, as well as similarities. 

Climate is an ever important indication of what a region has to offer, and plays an important role in how a region develops over time.  Therefore, we will once again begin by comparing the climates of the two different regions.  The Great Plains is home to an unpredictable and variable climate that can experience extremes from day to day, and even year to year.  Even nearby places can experience sharp differences at any given time.  Overall, The Great Plains is relatively dry, with strong seasonal changes and dramatic variations in temperature and precipitation.  Summers are hot, but are less extreme the higher north you go.  Winters are very cold in the northern areas, but generally milder in southern portions of The Great Plains.  However, Blue Northerns can, and do bring freezing temperatures and even blizzards throughout the region in the winter.  In contrast, Chinook winds bring warmer temperature to the region at times too.

A Tornado Rips through The Great Plains

This constant play between Blue Northerns and Chinook winds results in the formation of tornadoes.  Because of this, The Great plains is the most susceptible place in the world to tornadoes.  Specifically, the southern portion of The Great Plains is often referred to as "Tornado Alley".  Rehoboth Beach's climate is different in many key areas when compared to The Great Plains.  Specifically, Rehoboth Beach does not experience much variation day to day or year to year in temperature and precipitation like The Great Plains.  However, Rehoboth Beach and its surrounding areas can experience differences in local weather even though they are relatively close together like areas in The Great Plains experience.  I have been in Rehoboth before and have it be a nice sunny day, but 20 minutes away at my grandparents house it will be windy and rainy.  The Great Plains experiences large variations in temperature and precipitation from summer to winter, but the opposite is true for Rehoboth Beach.  Rehoboth Beach"s temperature is moderated by the Atlantic Ocean.  There is a variation from winter to summer, but it is not as significant as The Great Plains region experiences.  Additionally, Rehoboth Beach experiences consistent amounts of rain year to year, and is constant throughout the year unlike The Great Plains.  Lastly, Rehoboth Beach does not experience tornados like the Great Plains do.  On the other hand, Rehoboth Beach can, and have experienced blizzards like the Great Plains do.  The blizzards are rarer in Rehoboth Beach, but they do happen.  Overall, both regions have differences as expected, but similarities can still be found.

The Great Plains consists of large ranges of rural areas.  Large cities for residents of these more rural areas to visit are scattered throughout the landscape.  Rehoboth Beach, and Delaware at large is a part of the Megalopolis area.  However, much of Delaware is rural and residents make trips to the larger cities throughout the year.  Similarly, The Great Plains features large cities for people from more rural areas to visit when they need certain supplies.  In Delaware,  large cities in the surrounding area include, Dover, Wilmington, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other
farther away cities such as, New York, Boston, and D.C.

Winnipeg, Manitoba

In the Great Plains, some of the large cities for residents from more rural areas to visit are, Tusla and Oklahoma City on the U.S side, and Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg on the Canadian side.  I have a friend who lives in Manitoba, and about once or twice a month him and his family make a trip into Winnipeg for the day.  The formation of large cities spread apart by rural, or less urbanized areas is a common similarity between the The Great Plains and Rehoboth Beach, DE.



Despite being located in two different sections of the United States, The Great Plains and Rehoboth Beach share some similarities.  There were many differences in climate as expected, but nevertheless, some similarities could be found.  Next week the topic will be The Rocky Mountain Region.  We will compare the two regions climates, and look to draw a similarity between two otherwise largely different areas.

Until Next Time,
William