Eastern Plains

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For the natural region of Colombia, see Orinoquía natural region.
Corn growing in Larimer County
High Plains in Eastern Colorado

The Eastern Plains of

Front Range
.

Geography

Eastern Plains shown on the map of Colorado

The Eastern Plains are part of the High Plains, which are the westernmost portion of the Great Plains. The region is characterized by mostly rolling plains, divided by the South Platte River and Arkansas River valleys. There are also several deciduous forests, canyons, buttes, and a few large natural lakes and rivers throughout the region. The Eastern Plains rise from approximately 3,400 feet (1,000 m.) at the eastern border of Colorado with Kansas, where the Arkansas River leaves the state, to 7,500 feet (2,300 m.)[citation needed] east of the Denver Basin.[1]

Most of the Eastern Plains region lies within Colorado's 4th congressional district.

Climate

The Eastern Plains have a

thunderstorms, which are often severe, to the area, with some occasionally forming landspouts and tornadoes. Eastern Colorado winters are cold and dry, with significant snowfalls and icy conditions. Temperatures can sometimes fall to -40 to -30 degrees Fahrenheit in extreme cold waves, although this is rare.[3]

History

Many of the original European settlers of Eastern Colorado built sod houses where lumber was scarce.

Native Americans

Eastern Colorado was once home to many Native American tribes. The Plains Indians that lived in the region included the

Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Sioux.[4] The Ute people formally ruled all over central and western Colorado, and onto the eastern plains as well. The Comanche once ruled all over southeastern Colorado, and the Jicarilla Apache ruled in southeastern Colorado as well.[5]

Settlement

In 1541, the Spanish came to the area now known as the south eastern portion of Colorado, in search of gold after hearing rumors in Mexico city. Not having found any gold, the Spanish largely left the area untouched. During the late 17th and 18th century Spain and France claimed southeastern Colorado. However, nobody settled the land. In 1803 the United States gained possession of much of the land east of Rocky Mountains with the Louisiana Purchase.

Zebulon M. Pike was sent by the federal government to lay out the boundary lines of territory in 1806. This expedition investigated the area now known as Colorado Springs. The prominent mountain in the area was named Pike's Peak after Pike, the leading commander of the exploration. There were multiple expeditions sent to lay out and explore the territory throughout the early 1800s. This created multiple trading posts with fur trades attracting many backcountry adventurers. There was still no permanent settlement created until after the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848. San Luis was founded on the Culebra River in 1851. Spanish-speaking settlers who had moved north from New Mexico founded it. San Luis was shortly followed by settlements of San Pedro, San Acacio and Guadalupe.[6]

Population

The Eastern Colorado plains are among the most sparsely populated areas in the continental United States. Some of the region, with the exception of comparatively urban areas like Sterling, is experiencing depopulation, which in some areas began with the influenza pandemic of 1918 and agricultural price collapses after World War I.[7] The Dust Bowl devastated the region and further accelerated this outmigration. Baca County is emblematic of the population decline and its associated effects, as the county's population declined in every census from 1960 to 2020.

Protected areas

The Pawnee Buttes, located in the Pawnee National Grassland on the high plains in Northeastern Colorado
Picture Canyon, located in the Comanche National Grassland, is typical of the scattered canyons found on the high plains in Eastern Colorado, Eastern New Mexico, West Texas, and the Oklahoma panhandle.

Both the

Pawnee National Grasslands and Comanche National Grasslands are located in the Eastern Plains. They are composed of marginal farmlands that were withdrawn from agriculture and consolidated under federal control beginning in the Dust Bowl.[8]

The

Amache National Historic Site, located near Granada in Prowers County is administered by the National Park Service.[9]

Agriculture

Eastern Colorado is largely

family farms
.

Education

In Eastern Colorado most small towns have their own schools and sports teams, but in some parts where depopulation has been the worst, a single school is shared among surrounding towns. There are also a number of schools serving students in grades K–12 run by religious groups or public school districts. Eastern Colorado is one of the few remaining places in the United States that was still operating

one-room school houses in 2010.[citation needed
]

Eastern Colorado is home to several institutions of higher education, primarily community colleges:

Religion

The most prominent religion in Eastern Colorado is

Roman Catholicism the largest denomination.[citation needed
]

Transportation

Eastern Colorado roads span the gamut from paved roads to gravel roads to dirt roads. The unpaved roads are typically county or local roads that do not receive enough traffic to be paved. Some of the major paved roads include:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Eastern Plains". Colorado State University. Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
  2. ^ "Colorado Climate Summaries". dri.edu. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  3. ^ "Colorado Climate Center - Climate of Colorado". colostate.edu. Archived from the original on July 3, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  4. ^ "Colorado Native Americans, History & Genealogy". ancestry.com. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  5. ^ "Colorado Indian Tribes - Access Genealogy". accessgenealogy.com. July 9, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  6. ^ "History". howstuffworks.com. February 27, 2008. Archived from the original on February 11, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
  7. ^ "Pawnee National Grassland History". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. March 24, 2004. Retrieved December 1, 2007.
  8. ^ "Chronological History of National Grasslands" (PDF). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 10, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
  9. ^ "Amache National Historic Site Formally Established as America's Newest National Park - Office of Communications (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2009. Retrieved November 9, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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