Consult the Travels of Heinrich Barth (new ed., London, 1890); Hausaland, by C. H. Robinson (London, 1896); Northern Nigeria, by Sir F. D. Lugard, in vol. xxii. Geographical Journal (London, 1904); A Tropical Dependency, by Lady Lugard (London, 1905); the Colonial Office Reports on Northern Nigeria from 1902 onward, and other works cited under [Nigeria].

(F. L. L.)

KANSAS (known as the “Sunflower State”), the central commonwealth of the United States of America, lying between 37° and 40° N. lat. and between 94° 38′ and 102° 1′ 34″ W. long. (i.e. 25° W. long, from Washington). It is bounded on the N. by Nebraska, on the E. by Missouri, on the S. by Oklahoma, and on the W. by Colorado. The state is nearly rectangular in shape, with a breadth of about 210 m. from N. to S. and a length of about 410 m. from E. to W. It contains an area of 82,158 sq. m. (including 384 sq. m. of water surface).

Physiography.—Three physiographic regions may be distinguished within the state—the first, a small portion of the Ozark uplift in the extreme south-east corner; the second, the Prairie Plains, covering approximately the east third of the state; the third, the Great Plains, covering the remaining area. Between the latter two there is only the most gradual transition. The entire state is indeed practically an undulating plain, gently sloping from west to east at an average of about 7 ft. per mile. There is also an inclination in the eastern half from north to south, as indicated by the course of the rivers, most of which flow south-easterly (the Kansas, with its general easterly course, is the principal exception), the north-west corner being the highest portion of the state. The lowest point in the state in its south-east part, in Montgomery county, is 725 ft. above sea level. The average elevation of the east boundary is about 850 ft., while contour lines of 3500-3900 ft. run near the west border. Somewhat more than half the total area is below 2000 ft. The gently rolling prairie surface is diversified by an endless succession of broad plains, isolated hills and ridges, and moderate valleys. In places there are terraced uplands, and in others the undulating plain is cut by erosion into low escarpments. The bluffs on the Missouri are in places 200 ft. high, and the valley of the Cimarron, in the south-west, has deep cuts, almost gorges. The west central portion has considerable irregularities of contour, and the north-west is distinctively hilly. In the south-west, below the Arkansas river, is an area of sandhills, and the Ozark Plateau region, as above stated, extends into the south-east corner, though not there much elevated. The great central valley is traversed by the Kansas (or Kaw) river, which, inclusive of the Smoky Hill Branch, extends the entire length of the state, with lateral valleys on the north. Another broad valley is formed in the south half of the state by the Arkansas river, with lateral valleys on the north and south. The south-east portion contains the important Neosho and smaller valleys. In the extreme south-west is the valley of the Cimarron, and along the south boundary is a network of the south tributaries of the Arkansas. Numerous small affluents of the Missouri enrich and diversify the north-east quarter. The streams of Kansas are usually fed by perennial springs, and, as a rule, the east and middle portions of the state are well watered. Most of the streams maintain a good flow of water in the driest seasons, and in case of heavy rains many of them “underflow” the adjacent bottom lands, saturating the permeable substratum of the country with the surplus water, which in time drains out and feeds the subsiding streams. This feature is particularly true of the Saline, Solomon and Smoky Hill rivers. The west part is more elevated and water is less abundant.

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Climate.—The climate of Kansas is exceptionally salubrious. Extremes of heat and cold occur, but as a rule the winters are dry and mild, while the summer heats are tempered by the perpetual prairie breezes, and the summer nights are usually cool and refreshing. The average annual temperature of the state for seventeen years preceding 1903 was 54.3° F., the warmest mean being 56.0°, the coldest 52.6°. The extreme variation of yearly means throughout the east, west and middle sections during the same period was very slight, 51.6° to 56.6°, and the greatest variation for any one section was 3.7°. The absolute extremes were 116° and -34°. The dryness of the air tempers exceedingly to the senses the cold of winter and the heat of summer. The temperature over the state is much more uniform than is the precipitation, which diminishes somewhat regularly westward. In the above period of seventeen years the yearly means in the west section varied from 11.93 to 29.21 in. (av. 19.21), in the middle from 18.58 to 34.30 (av. 26.68), in the east from 26.00 to 45.71 (av. 34.78); the mean for the state ranging from 20.12 to 35.50 (av. 27.12).[1] The precipitation in the west is not sufficient for confident agriculture in any series of years, since agriculture is practically dependent upon the mean fall; a fact that has been and is of profound importance in the history of the state. The line of 20 in. fall (about the limit of certain agriculture) approximately bisects the state in dry years. The precipitation is very largely in the growing season—at Dodge the fall between April and October is 78% of that for the year. Freshets and droughts at times work havoc. The former made notable 1844 and 1858; and the latter 1860, 1874 and 1894. Tornadoes are also a not infrequent infliction, least common in the west. The years 1871, 1879, 1881 and 1892 were made memorable by particularly severe storms. There are 150 to 175 “growing days” for crops between the frosts of spring and autumn, and eight in ten days are bright with sunshine—half of them without a cloud. Winds are prevailingly from the south (in the winter often from the north-west).

Fauna and Flora.—The fauna and flora of the state are those which are characteristic of the plain region generally of which Kansas is a part. The state lies partly in the humid, or Carolinian, and partly in the arid, or Upper Sonoran, area of the Upper Austral life-zone; 100° W. long. is approximately the dividing line between these areas. The bison and elk have disappeared. A very great variety of birds is found within the state, either as residents or as visitants from the adjoining avifaunal regions—mountain, plain, northern and southern. In 1886 Colonel N. S. Goss compiled a list of 335 species, of which 175 were known to breed in the state. The wild turkey, once abundant, was near extermination in 1886, and prairie chickens (pinnated grouse) have also greatly diminished in number. The jack-rabbit is characteristic of the prairie. Locusts (“grasshoppers” in local usage) have worked incalculable damage, notably in 1854, 1866, and above all in 1874-1875. In the last two cases their ravages extended over a great portion of the state.

Kansas has no forests. Along the streams there is commonly a fringe of timber, which in the east is fairly heavy. There is an increasing scarcity westward. With the advancing settlement of the state thin wind-break rows become a feature of the prairies. The lessened ravages of prairie fires have facilitated artificial afforesting, and many cities, in particular, are abundantly and beautifully shaded. Oaks, elms, hickory, honey-locusts, white ash, sycamore and willows, the rapid growing but miserable box-elder and cottonwood, are the most common trees. Black walnut was common in the river valleys in Territorial days. The planting of tree reserves by the United States government in the arid counties of this state promises great success. A National Forest of 302,387 acres in Finney, Kearney, Hamilton and Grant counties was set aside in May 1908. Buffalo and bunch, and other short native prairie grasses, very nutritious ranging food but unavailable as hay, once covered the plains and pastured immense herds of buffalo and other animals, but with increasing settlement they have given way generally to exotic bladed species, valuable alike for pasture and for hay, except in the western regions. The hardy and ubiquitous sunflower has been chosen as the state flower or floral emblem. Cactus and yucca occur in the west.