Description of Kansas, US

The state of Kansas is located in the midwest of the United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Colorado form its northern, eastern, southern, and western borders, respectively. Named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks, the Kansas River bears the name of the state of Kansas. People of the (south) wind is a common interpretation of the tribe's name (kk:ze), however this may not have been its original meaning. Many different Native American tribes lived in what is now Kansas for thousands of years. The eastern region of the state was home to a large number of indigenous tribes, many of whom lived in riverside communities. Semi-nomadic tribes hunted huge herds of bison in the western part of the state.

In 1827, the European-American colony of Fort Leavenworth was created in Kansas. Settlement accelerated in the 1850s despite political tensions over the subject of slavery. Abolitionist Free-Staters from New England and pro-slavery settlers from Missouri rushed to the territory in 1854 when the Kansas–Nebraska Act opened the region to colonization. Bleeding Kansas was the name given to the area because of the early carnage and chaos that occurred as a result of the convergence of these elements. The abolitionists prevailed, and Kansas became a free state on January 29, 1861, gaining the nickname "The Free State" for the state.

Among the most productive states in terms of agriculture in 2015 was Kansas, which saw record wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybean harvests. Kansans, with a population of 2,940,865 as of the 2020 census, make up the 15th-largest and 36th-largest states in the United States, respectively. Residents of Kansas are referred to as Kansans. In terms of elevation, Kansas's highest peak is Mount Sunflower at 4,030 feet (1,231 meters).

Geography Description of Kansas

To the north, Kansas is bordered by Nebraska; east by Missouri; south by Oklahoma; north by Nebraska; east by Oklahoma; south by Oklahoma; and west by Colorado. There are 105 counties and 628 cities in the state, with Butler County being the largest. [31] Pacific and Atlantic waters meet at their shores in Kansas. The geographic center of the contiguous 48 states is located in Smith County, about north of Lebanon. It wasn't until 1989 that the Meades Ranch Triangulation Station in Osborne County became the definitive reference point for all North American maps. The county seat of Barton County is located in the heart of Kansas.

Sedimentary layers run parallel to the state's eastern border and gradually slope westward. Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian rocks can be found in the eastern and southern parts of the state. It is possible to see Cretaceous to Tertiary strata in the western half of the state, as a result of the erosion of the Rocky Mountains. With the outcrops east, these sediments are to the Paleozoic or Mesozoic era, and they are well-connected. The northeastern region of the state was covered by glacial drift and loess during the Pleistocene era.

Because of the state's location in the vast middle plain, much of the western two-thirds of the state is flat or undulating, while the eastern third has many hills and woods. It's a gradual ascent from Coffeyville in Montgomery County in the east to Mount Sunflower in Wallace County, at 4,039 feet (1,200 meters), about 0.5 miles (0.80 kilometers) from the Colorado border, at an elevation of 4,039 feet (1,200 meters). Although Kansas is frequently mistaken for being the nation's flattest state, one mocking study declared the state to be "flatter than a pancake" in 2003. Topographically, Kansas reaches a maximum elevation of 3,360 feet (1,020 meters), ranking it as the 23rd flattest state in the union.

About 76 miles (122 kilometers) of the state's northeastern boundary is defined by the Missouri River. Junction City, Kansas's Smoky Hill and Republican rivers merge to form the Kansas River (locally referred to as the Kaw), which travels 170 miles (270 kilometers) across the state's northeastern area to join the Missouri River in Kansas City.

Colorado is the source of the Arkansas River, which flows for about 500 miles (800 kilometers) across the western and southern parts of the state before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. With its tributaries, the Little Arkansas, Ninnescah, Walnut, Cow Creek, Cimarron, Verdigris, and the Neosho, it forms the state's southern drainage system.

Aside from the Smoky Hill River tributaries the Saline and Solomon Rivers, there are four more rivers in Kansas: the Big Blue; Delaware; Wakarusa; and Marais des Cygnes; all of these rivers flow into the Kansas River. The Spring River flows between Riverton and Baxter Springs.

Economy Description of Kansas

In 2014, Kansas' total GDP was assessed at $140.964 billion by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Just 10,000 jobs were created in the non-farm sector between 2014 and 2015, which was one of the lowest rates in the United States. This year's data shows that the average yearly wage in Kansas was $42,930 in 2015. The state's unemployment rate was 4.2 percent as of April 2016.

The state of Kansas has a $350 million budget shortfall as of February 2017. In February 2017, S&P downgraded Kansas' credit rating to AA-.

Agribusiness occupies about ninety percent of the state's territory. Cattle, sheep, wheat, sorghum, soybeans, cotton, pigs, corn, and salt are a few of the state's many agricultural products. In 2018, there were 59,600 farms in Kansas, and just 86 (or 0.14%) were organically certified. A typical farm in the state cost $300,000 to operate in 2016. The average farm size in the state is 770 acres (more than a square mile).

It's no surprise that wheat is the state's most important agricultural crop. In the central United States, Eastern Kansas is part of the Grain Belt, where a substantial amount of grain is produced. About 40% of the winter wheat grown in the United States comes from Kansas. Hard red winter wheat accounts for nearly all of the state's wheat production. On 8,2 million acres, conventional wheat growers produced an average yield of 57 bushels of wheat in 2016.

Equipment for transportation, commercial and private planes as well as foodstuffs and publications are all examples of industrial outputs.

The state's economy also benefits greatly from the aerospace industry. Bombardier Aerospace (LearJet) and Textron Aviation both have production facilities in Kansas City and Wichita, respectively (a merger of the former Cessna, Hawker, and Beechcraft brands). Boeing's production operations in Kansas were shut down in 2012 and 2013.

Topeka is home to a number of important firms, including YRC Worldwide (Overland Park), Payless Shoes (national headquarters and significant distribution facilities in Topeka), Koch Industries (with national headquarters in Wichita), and Coleman (headquarters in Wichita).

Fort Leavenworth (Army), Fort Riley (Army), and McConnell Air Force Base are just three of the state's notable military installations (Air Force). In addition to the approximately 25,000 active-duty troops and airmen stationed at these facilities, the Department of Defense also employs an additional 8,000 civilians. Located in Wichita, the 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command of the US Army Reserve provides support to reservists and their respective regional units. On the 184th Intelligence Wing in Wichita, as well as Forbes Field near Topeka, the Kansas Air National Guard maintains a significant presence. In terms of size and use, the Smoky Hill Weapons Range of the Intelligence Wing is among the busiest and largest in the country. Kansas served as the home of numerous Army Air Corps training facilities during World War II. Many of these airfields are still in use today as municipal airports.