The Midwest Region

1. The Midwest Region

3. Great Lakes

4. The Great Lakes • From largest to smallest they are: • Lake Superior--The largest freshwater lake in the world • Lake Huron • Lake Michigan • Lake Erie • Lake Ontario • 18,000 years ago glaciers covered the Midwest. • As they moved across the land they gouged enormous holes in the land. • The glaciers melted and filled these giant holes with water. • This is how the Great Lakes were formed.

5. Rivers • Midwest has many lakes and rivers • Ohio River forms the boundary between the Midwest and Southeast • Ohio River flows into the Mississippi River • Missouri River is the largest tributary of the Mississippi River • Tributary- a smaller river that flows into a bigger river • Thousands of years ago, glaciers carved deep trenches in the land. When the glaciers melted these “trenches” filled with water to become rivers.

6. Ohio River

7. Missouri River Missouri River

8. The Great Plains • Plain-A broad area of land that is gently rolling or almost flat • “The Midwest is the flattest region of the United States. It is the only one with no mountain ranges”. • Glaciers scrapped and squashed the land making it as flat as a pancake. • The glaciers left behind good soil. • Flat land is easier to farm • Farming & Ranching

9. Great plains

10. The Sand Hills, Nebraska • Region of mixed grass prairie on sand dunes • Large array of plant and animal life • Home to 314 animal species-deer, coyotes red foxes, wild turkeys, bats and fishes • Thousands of ponds and lakes • Sandy soil= no crops • Cattle ranching area • Covers 1/4 of Nebraska • Part of the Great Plains

11. Sand hills

12. Sandhills

13. sandhills

14. Sleeping Bear DunesLake Michigan • Enormous piles of sand and gravel left behind by the glaciers • Today these sand dunes are tourist destinations for swimming, boating and other water activities on Lake Michigan • Long ago one really big sand dune was shaped like a sleeping bear. That’s how the park got its name.

15. Sleeping Bear Dunes

16. Sleeping Bear Dunes

17. Sleeping bear dunes

18. The Badlands • Located in South Dakota • Landforms are sharp and jagged • Deep gullies, or long narrow ditches have been cut into the landscape • Very dry, little plant or animal life • Native American named it “badlands” because it was so hard to cross

19. The Badlands The Badlands

20. The Badlands

21. The Caves • Wind Cave • Over 90 miles of passage ways have been explored in this cave • Temperature inside cave is around 53 degrees • Wind can reach 70 miles per hour • Jewel Cave • One of the longest cave systems -over 110 miles • Crystal “jewels” on the walls of the cave

22. Wind cave National Park

23. Wind cave

24. Wind cave box work

27. Onondaga Cave Onondaga Cave-lily pads

28. Mount Rushmore National Memorial • Monument is carved into the Black Hills of South Dakota • Four faces are presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln • George Washington’s head is 60 feet high • The monument was completed in1941. It took 14 years to carve.

29. Mount Rushmore

30. Crazy Horse MemorialBlack Hills, South Dakota • A memorial to honor the great Lakota chief, Crazy Horse • It is still being carved into the side of the Black Hills • When it is finished it will be the biggest statue in the world. • Arm is as long as a football field • Face is nine stories high

31. Crazy Horse