Heading back to Missouri, we entered the Central Lowlands of North America along I-71, between Mansfield and Columbus, Ohio. This vast geophysical province stretches from central Ohio to the eastern Dakotas and from northern Kentucky to the prairielands of Central Canada. To the east, it is bordered by the edge of the Appalachian Plateau while, to the south, it abuts the low plateaus and Shawnee Hills of central Kentucky, southern Indiana and southern Illinois; further west, the southern edge of the Central Lowlands runs along the Ozarks of Missouri and extreme southeastern Kansas. The western extent of the Province is defined by the High Plains escarpments of Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas while the Great Lakes, the Canadian Shield and the great Northwoods form its northern boundary.
Underlain with Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, most of the Central Lowlands was plowed flat by the Pleistocene Glaciers and, in these regions, its soil was enriched with glacial till. When white settlers first crossed the Appalachians, a sea of tallgrass prairie covered the Province, home to huge herds of bison. Forest, primarily limited to the stream channels, was kept at bay by high winds, periodic drought, wildfires and the grazing and trampling of the bison themselves. Soon, the bison were decimated and the prairie was plowed, yielding the North American Corn Belt that we see today.
Following I-70 from Columbus, Ohio, to Columbia, Missouri, travelers encounter a gently rolling landscape, covered by croplands and hay fields. Away from the cities and towns, woodlands are still clustered along the streams and rivers, whose valleys provide the only significant topographic relief. While vital to our economy and home to a diverse collection of natural habitats, the Central Lowlands is certainly not the most scenic province for human travelers; but to migrant waterfowl, its lakes, rivers, wetlands and grainfields must look like paradise.
