The Interior Lowlands - Article

Ohio Farmland

Where is it?

The Interior Lowlands of the United States lie in a vast grassy expanse between the Appalachian Mountains and the Great Plains. Over a dozen states contain at least a part of this region, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The Lowlands stretch from the Coastal Plain at its southernmost edge to Canada.

How was it formed?

While dramatic tectonic plate movements formed the features of the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains to the east and to the west, the Interior Lowlands are, in contrast, characterized by 600 million years of little geologic activity. Above the tectonic plate, an ancient bed of crystalline rocks lies under deep layers of sedimentary rock. In the southern region of the Interior Lowlands, silt blown in by the wind settled in fertile layers on the sedimentary rock. On the northern edge, glaciers carved the basins of the Great Lakes. As glaciers formed and receded over millions of years, their melting runoff formed streams and rivers.

Mississippi River in Iowa

Agriculture

The fertile soil of the Interior Lowlands has long been used for agriculture. Native Americans such as the Omaha developed and traded many varieties of corn in this region. The majority of agricultural land in the Interior Lowlands today is used to grow corn and soybeans. Although climate change is lengthening growing seasons for farmers, increases in the frequency of cataclysmic events such as floods, heat waves, and droughts in the Lowlands threaten agricultural stability.

Kentucky Farm

Natural Resources

This region is also rich in natural resources. Sandstone deposits provide sand that is used as a raw material in glass production. Salt and limestone are found in the northern portion of the region. Petroleum from oil fields in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas is used for the production of motor oil and jet fuel. The Interior Lowlands are an important physiographic region whose vast resources, both agricultural and mineral, are used by millions of people.