{{short description|Physiographic and geologic region of North America}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}} [[Image:NorthAmericaInteriorPlains.svg|right|thumb|300px|The Interior Plains are highlighted in red.]] The ''' Interior Plains''' is a vast [[physiographic region|international region]] that spreads across the [[Laurentia|Laurentian craton]] of central [[North America]]. It extends along the east flank of the [[Rocky Mountains]] from the [[Gulf Coast]] region to the [[Arctic]] [[Beaufort Sea]]. In [[Canada]], it encompasses the [[Canadian Prairies]] separating the [[Canadian Rockies]] from the [[Canadian Shield]], as well as the [[Boreal Plains]] and [[Taiga Plains]] east of the [[Mackenzie Mountains|Mackenzie]] and [[Richardson Mountains]]. In the [[United States]], it includes the [[Great Plains]] of the [[western United States|West]]/[[Midwest]] and the [[tallgrass prairie]] region to the south of the [[Great Lakes]] extending east to the [[Appalachian Plateau]] region.<ref name="ce">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/physiographic-regions|title=Physiographic Regions|encyclopedia=[[Canadian Encyclopedia]]|author1=Donald F. Acton|author2=J.M. Ryder|author3=Hugh French|date=14 March 2015|access-date=2 June 2019|quote=Interior Plains}}</ref>
==Geologic history== A series of tectonic plate collisions in the crust that formed the center of the North American continent laid the groundwork for the modern-day interior plains. Mountain building and erosion around the plains as well as flooding from inland seas provided sediments that make up the rock strata of the interior plains.
===Proterozoic Eon (2500 to 539 million years ago)=== Between 2.0 and 1.8 billion years ago the [[Hearne Craton|Hearne]]-[[Rae Craton|Rae]], [[Superior Craton|Superior]], and [[Wyoming Craton|Wyoming]] [[craton]]s were [[Suture (geology)|sutured together]] to form the [[North American craton|North American]]/[[Laurentia]] craton in an event called the [[Trans-Hudson Orogeny]] (THO).<ref name="BH">{{cite web |title=North America |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/North-America/Tectonic-evolution#ref469368 |website=Britannica |access-date=21 November 2020}}</ref> The tectonic activity that followed along the edges of the four main cratons sparked [[mountain building]] in those regions. The formation of the [[Himalayas]] is following the same process after the [[Indian Plate]] began colliding with the [[Eurasian Plate]] about 10 millions years ago.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Achache |first1=José |last2=Courtillot |first2=Vincent |last3=Xiu |first3=Zhou Yao |title=Paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of southern Tibet since Middle Cretaceous time: New paleomagnetic data and synthesis |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=89 |issue=B12 |pages=10311–10340 |year=1984 |doi=10.1029/JB089iB12p10311 |bibcode=1984JGR....8910311A }}</ref>
The interior of Laurentia remained relatively flat and became a [[Sedimentary basin|basin]] for eroded sediment from mountains at the beginning of the current time period, the [[Phanerozoic Eon]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=St-Onge |first1=Marc R. |last2=Searle |first2=Michael P. |last3=Wadicka |first3=Natasha |title=Trans-Hudson Orogen of North America and Himalaya-Karakoram-Tibetan Orogen of Asia: Structural and thermal characteristics of the lower and upper plates |journal=Tectonics |date=18 July 2016 |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=2–6 |doi=10.1029/2005TC001907 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The only remaining outcrops from this orogeny in the interior plains are in the [[Black Hills of South Dakota]]. The sediments that formed the Black Hills were [[granite]] and different types of [[igneous rocks]], which make up the basement of bedrock in central North America. However, much of the Black Hills sediment has been [[metamorphosed]] and deformed, so it is uncertain what the conditions were like at the time of their formation.<ref name="BH" />
===Paleozoic Era (539 to 252 million years ago)=== This period has a large importance in Earth's history as it saw the [[Cambrian explosion]] and [[Permian extinction]]. When global sea level rose and continents became partially submerged, the oceans had an explosion of complex life, which was the first time an event like this occurred on Earth. However, the center of Laurentia remained above sea level and as the continent moved east towards other supercontinents like [[Gondwana]], the [[Appalachian Mountains]] began to form around 400 MYA.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robison |first1=Richard A. |last2=Crick |first2=Rex E. |title=Paleozoic Era |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Paleozoic-Era |website=Britannica |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=23 November 2020}}</ref> This coincided with the formation of [[Pangea]] around 300 MYA, when the Appalachians were at their peak height. The central plains of Laurentia were subjected to deposition of eroded sediment from these mountains.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains – A Geologic History |url=https://livingtheblueridgedream.wordpress.com/2017/05/15/the-blue-ridge-and-appalachian-mountains-a-geologic-history/ |website=Blue Ridge Dream |date=May 15, 2017 |publisher=Living the Blue Ridge Dream |access-date=23 November 2020}}</ref> The oldest sediments from this period are [[felsic]] igneous rocks and granite that have since been metamorphosed, while the younger sediments are made up of [[sandstone]], [[shale]], [[limestone]], and [[coal]]. Sediments deposited in the interior plains from this era are currently buried deep beneath the surface where they are difficult to study.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dykeman |first1=Wilma |title=Appalachian Mountains |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Appalachian-Mountains/Geology |website=Britannica |publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=23 November 2020}}</ref>
===Mesozoic Era (252 to 66 million years ago)=== Around 220 MYA, the supercontinent Pangea broke apart, and the [[North American continent]] began to move west and isolate itself. For much of this period the interior plains were covered by inland seas.<ref name="WIS">{{cite book |last1=Slattery |first1=Joshua S. |last2=Cobban |first2=William A. |last3=McKinney |first3=Kevin C. |last4=Harries |first4=Peter J. |last5=Sandness |first5=Ashley L |chapter=EARLY CRETACEOUS TO PALEOCENE PALEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN INTERIOR SEAWAY: THE INTERACTION OF EUSTASY AND TECTONISM |title=Wyoming Geological Association 68th Annual Field Conference |editor=Marron Bingle-Davis |volume=68|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280641436 |via=ResearchGate |publisher=Wyoming Geological Association |access-date=23 November 2020}}</ref> During the [[Jurassic period]], the [[Sundance Sea]] formed along the western coast of the North American continent and extended from northern [[Canada]] to the interior plains, covering parts of [[Wyoming]], [[Montana]], [[North Dakota]], and [[South Dakota]]. [[Coquina]] and sandstone layers from marine deposition were deposited on top of rock layers from the [[Paleozoic Era]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Uhler |first1=David M. |last2=Akers |first2=Aurthur |last3=Vondra |first3=Carl F. |title=Tidal inlet sequence, Sundance Formation (Upper Jurassic), north-central Wyoming |journal=Sedimentology |date=October 1988 |volume=35 |issue=5 |pages=739–752 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-3091.1988.tb01248.x |bibcode=1988Sedim..35..739U |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-3091.1988.tb01248.x |access-date=23 November 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> During the [[Cretaceous period]], another inland sea called the [[Western Interior Seaway]] was formed. This body of water extended from present-day [[Alaska]] to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and covered almost all the interior plains west of the current boundary of the [[Mississippi River]]. Limestone-shale couplets, as well as [[carbonate]] layers, are commonly found in sedimentary deposits from this inland sea.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elder |first1=William P. |last2=Gustason |first2=Edmund R. |last3=Sageman |first3=Bradley B. |title=Correlation of basinal carbonate cycles to nearshore parasequences in the Late Cretaceous Greenhorn seaway, Western Interior U.S.A. |journal=GSA Bulletin |date=July 1994 |volume=106 |issue=7 |pages=892–902 |doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1994)106<0892:COBCCT>2.3.CO;2|bibcode=1994GSAB..106..892E |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-abstract/106/7/892/182952/Correlation-of-basinal-carbonate-cycles-to?redirectedFrom=fulltext |access-date=23 November 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Towards the end of this period, the inland seas began to drain due to uplift from the formation of the [[Rocky Mountains]].<ref name="WIS"/>
===Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago to Present Day)=== The [[Laramide Orogeny]] event was when the western [[Cordillera]] was formed due to the [[flat-slab subduction]] of the [[Farallon Plate]] under the North American Plate. This created the frontal range of the Rockies from [[Montana]] through [[New Mexico]]. The outcrops seen at the surface of the Rockies are made up of sandstone, granite, and limestone; as well as metamorphic rocks uplifted from the [[Proterozoic]] Period. The interior plains have remained relatively flat during this period and recent sedimentation is from erosion of the newly formed Rocky Mountains as well as continued erosion from Appalachia. In general, Rocky Mountain sediment is deposited on the plains west of the Mississippi River, and Appalachian sediment is deposited to the east of the Mississippi River.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Matthews II |first1=Vincent |title=Laramide Folding Associated with Basement Block Faulting in the Western United States |date=1978 |publisher=The Geological Society of America |isbn=0813711517 |pages=355; 357–360; 363–364 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GZLQ5w9rvlUC&q=laramide+orogeny&pg=PA355 |access-date=23 November 2020}}</ref>
==Glacial history== 2.6 million years ago at the start of the [[Pleistocene Epoch]], the [[Laurentide Ice Sheet]] began to spread southwards to cover North America down to the northern Great Plains on the western side of the Interior Plains and down into most of Minnesota and Wisconsin.<ref name="PlainsHumanitiesGlaciation">{{cite web |last1=Wayne |first1=William J. |title=Glaciation |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.pe.029 |website=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains}}</ref> The Laurentide Ice Sheet had a large influence on the morphology of the Interior Plains during the end of the Pleistocene. During the retreat, the Laurentide scoured numerous pockets of sediment. Upon the plate's melting, those pockets were filled, resulting in the kettle lakes. [[Great Lakes|The Great Lakes]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Great Lakes Ecoregion |url=https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/great-lakes-ecoregion |website=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=15 November 2020}}</ref> and both [[Great Slave Lake]] and [[Great Bear Lake]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Johnson |first1=Lionel |title=Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories |journal=Journal of the Fisheries Board of Canada |date=1 November 1975 |volume=32 |issue=11 |pages=1971–1987 |doi=10.1139/f75-234 }}</ref> of Canada were formed by the Laurentide. During the retreat, the Laurentide gouged and filled the [[Glacial Lake McConnell|glacial paleolake McConnell]] in northern Canada.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Derald. G. |title=Glacial lake McConnell: Paleogeography, age, duration, and associated river deltas, Mackenzie river basin, western Canada |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |date=1995 |volume=13 |issue=9–10 |pages=829–843 |doi=10.1016/0277-3791(94)90004-3}}</ref> As the region uplifted and rebounded isostatically from the mass of the ice sheet, paleolake McConnell was split into Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake. Great Slave Lake's basin formed under the 4-kilometer thick [[Keewatin ice sheet|Keewatin Dome]] that today is the deepest lake in North America.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Christoffersen |first1=Poul |last2=Tulaczyk |first2=Slawek |last3=Wattrus |first3=Nigel J. |last4=Peterson |first4=Justin |last5=Quintana-Krupinski |first5=Nadine |last6=Clark |first6=Chris D. |last7=Sjunneskog |first7=Charlotte |title=Large subglacial lake beneath the Laurentide Ice Sheet inferred from sedimentary sequences |journal=Geology |date=July 1, 2008 |volume=36 |issue=7 |pages=563–566 |doi=10.1130/G24628A.1|bibcode=2008Geo....36..563C }}</ref> A vast amount of smaller lakes were formed as well and serve an integral part of ethos in the surrounding regions. For example, Minnesota is often referred to as “the Land of 10,000 Lakes”<ref>{{cite web |title=MNLakes |url=https://www.mnlakes.org/ |website=MNLakes |access-date=20 November 2020}}</ref> due to the number and widespread recreational use of the state's lakes.
Much of the loess distributed within the Interior Plains has its origin in glaciers. In glaciated conditions, sand and silt-laden meltwater originating from alpine glaciers in the Rocky Mountains generated alluvial deposits at their base. This alluvium was then distributed throughout the Interior Plains by strong winds.<ref name="PlainsHumanitiesGlaciation"/>
==Sediment transport== Sediment transport within the Interior Plains occurs primarily by [[Aeolian processes|aeolian]] and [[fluvial processes]].<ref name=st>{{cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=A. |last2=Artita |first2=K. |last3=Simon |first3=K. |last4=Darby |first4=S. |last5=Leyland |first5=J. |title=Changes in hydrology and suspended-sediment transport in the Mississippi River Basin over the past century. |journal=United States Corps of Engineers |date=June 2020 |hdl=11681/37073 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Due to climate change, the average temperature of the Interior Plains is increasing and the region is becoming more arid. Because of the increase in rainstorm intensity, rain-driven erosion will grow as a factor of soil erosion in the Interior Plains.<ref name="SoilErode">{{cite journal |last1=Garbrecht |first1=Jurgen D. |last2=Nearing |first2=Mark A. |last3=Steiner |first3=Jean L. |last4=Zhang |first4=Xunchang J. |last5=Nichols |first5=Mary H. |title=Can conservation trump impacts of climate change on soil erosion? An assessment from winter wheat cropland in the Southern Great Plains of the United States |journal=Weather and Climate Extremes |date=December 2015 |volume=10(A) |pages=32–39 |doi=10.1016/j.wace.2015.06.002|bibcode=2015WCE....10...32G |doi-access=free }}</ref>
===Fluvial processes=== Civil engineering projects have altered the fluvial geomorphology of the Interior Plains. Normal sediment transport by river and channel systems is interrupted by river-blocking structures such as dams and flow regulators. Before 1900, the estimated annual sediment transport by the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico was 400 million tons.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meade |first1=R.H. |title=Causes for the decline of suspended-sediment discharge in the Mississippi River system |journal=Hydrological Processes |date=October 2009 |volume=24 |pages=2267–2274 |doi=10.1002/hyp.7477 }}</ref> However, in the early 20th century, engineering projects including dams were created on the Missouri River, meander cutoffs, river training, bank revetments, and soil erosion control have reduced the annual transport rate to between 100 and 150 million tons of sediment per year. The artificial structures trap suspended sediment from traveling as it would in an un-engineered river.<ref name=st/>
===Aeolian processes=== While average annual temperatures vary significantly between the northern and southern portions of the Interior Plains, the climate is characterized by susceptibility to droughts due to generally low annual precipitation.<ref name="NCA">{{cite web |last1=Shafer |first1=Mark |last2=Ojima |first2=Dennis |title=Great Plains |url=https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/great-plains |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240928092306/https://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/regions/great-plains |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2024 |website=National Climate Assessment |access-date=12 November 2020}}</ref>
Due to a warm climate and [[evapotranspiration]] rates surpassing precipitation rates,<ref name="NCA"/> the southern Interior Plains are highly susceptible to droughts and [[soil erosion]]. A significant feature of aeolian erosion in the Interior Plains is the ubiquitous [[loess]] deposits. The deposits were placed by winds during the [[Pleistocene epoch]].<ref name="NBSD">{{cite journal |last1=Muhs |first1=D.R. |last2=Bettis |first2=E.A. |title=Geochemical variations in Peoria Loess of western Iowa indicate paleowinds of midcontinental North America during the last glaciation. |journal=Quaternary Research |date=January 2000 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=49–61 |doi=10.1006/qres.1999.2090|bibcode=2000QuRes..53...49M |url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsstaffpub/186 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The Nebraska Sand Dunes are an example of the sand and loess during the epoch.<ref name="NASA">{{cite web |title=Sand Hills, Nebraska |url=https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_465.html |website=NASA |access-date=18 November 2020}}</ref> These dunes were formed during the Pleistocene by Northwesterly winds depositing alluvial silt and sand. That loess is so prevalent in the Interior Plains is evidence of significant aeolian erosion, as deposits are generally accumulations of wind-blown dust.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pye |first1=K. |title=The Nature, origin, and accumulation of loess |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |date=1996 |volume=14 |issue=7–8 |pages=653–667|doi=10.1016/0277-3791(95)00047-X }}</ref> [[File:Loess Hills 0628.jpg|thumb|right|Loess Hills in western Iowa along I-80.]]
Following [[World War I]], wheat farming in the fertile loess soil of the Interior Plains swelled. The expansion of farmland eliminated many prairies containing soil-stabilizing grasses.<ref name="DB">{{cite web |last1=Hurt |first1=R. Douglas |title=Dust Bowl |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.pe.022.xml |website=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains |access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref> While droughts in the region were common,<ref name = NCA /> during the following drought, aeolian soil erosion was exacerbated by the reduced soil-holding prairie grasses. Dust storms eroded hundreds of millions of tons of topsoil, causing dust storms for months in the historical region known as the [[Dust Bowl]]. On May 12, 1934, alone, an estimated 200 million tons of wind-eroded topsoil were transported to the Atlantic Ocean.<ref name="DB"/>
In response to the rapid aeolian erosion, soil preservation methods were implemented. In the years following the Dust Bowl, {{convert|18,500 |miles}} of [[shelterbelt]] were planted by the [[Works Progress Administration]] to reduce wind intensity.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brandle |first1=James R. |title=Sheltebelts |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.pe.055.xml |website=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains |access-date=3 November 2020}}</ref>
==Current land use== [[Grassland]] and [[shrubland]] make up the largest portion of the Interior Plains within the United States, at 44.4 percent.<ref name="USGS_Land_Use" /> The western margin is mainly shortgrass prairie dominated by [[blue grama]] and [[buffalograss]]. Prairies on the eastern side of the Interior Plains are dominated by tall grass varieties including [[big bluestem]] and [[switchgrass]]. The two regions are separated by mixed-grass prairie, which contains both short and long grass varieties as well as [[little bluestem]] and [[western wheatgrass]].<ref name="PlainsHumanitiesGrasses">{{cite web |last1=Vinton |first1=Mary Ann |title=Grasses |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.pe.030.xml |website=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains}}</ref> Land used for cattle-grazing is included under this classification, which sustains nearly 50 percent of all United States beef cattle.<ref name="PlainsHumanitiesAgriculture"/>
In Canada, provinces located within the Interior Plains produce nearly 60 percent of all beef cattle.<ref name="PlainsHumanitiesAgriculture" />
Much of the land in the Interior Plains is used for [[agriculture]]. In the year 2000, 43.8 percent of the Great Plains portion of the Interior Plains were used for agriculture.<ref name="USGS_Land_Use">{{cite book |last1=Jewell |first1=Sally |last2=Kimball |first2=Suzette M. |last3=Taylor |first3=Janis L. |last4=Acevedo |first4=William |last5=Auch |first5=Roger F. |last6=Drummond |first6=Mark A. |editor1-first=Janis |editor1-last=Taylor |editor2-first=William |editor2-last=Acevedo |editor3-first=Roger F |editor3-last=Auch |editor4-first=Mark A |editor4-last=Drummond |title=Status and Trends of Land Change in the Great Plains of the United States - 1973 to 2000 |chapter=Status and trends of land change in the Great Plains of the United States--1973 to 2000 |series=Professional Paper |date=2015 |doi=10.3133/pp1794B }}</ref> By far, [[wheat]] comprises the largest portion of the agricultural yield in region; combined, wheat exports from the Interior Plains make up more than half of the world's exports.<ref name="PlainsHumanitiesAgriculture">{{cite web |last1=Hudson |first1=John C. |title=Agriculture |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ag.001 |website=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains |access-date=November 11, 2020}}</ref> Other significant crops produced in the region include [[barley]], [[corn]], [[cotton]], [[sorghum]], [[soybeans]], and [[canola]], which is particularly important to Canadian exports.<ref name="PlainsHumanitiesAgriculture" />
Other sources comprise much smaller portions of the land. In decreasing percentage, forests make up 5.8%, wetland makes up 1.6%, developed land makes up 1.5%, barren land makes up .6%, and land used for mining makes up .1%.<ref name="USGS_Land_Use"/>
==Physiography== The Interior Plains [[Physiographic region|physiographic area]] stretches across Canada and the United States, and the two governments each use a different hierarchical system to classify their portions. In Canada, the Interior Plains makes up one of seven physiographic areas included in the highest level of classification - defined as a "region" in that country. In the United States it is one of eight physiographic areas (of the contiguous 48 states) included in the highest classification, defined as a "division" there.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Physiographic divisions of the conterminous U. S. - ScienceBase-Catalog |url=https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/631405bbd34e36012efa304e |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=www.sciencebase.gov |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Secretariat |first=Treasury Board of Canada |title=Physiographic Regions of Canada - Open Government Portal |url=https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/a3dfbaf4-1b20-4061-aa0a-e7a79953f52d |access-date=2023-11-12 |website=open.canada.ca}}</ref>
===Interior Plains in Canada===
The Interior Plains of Canada are one of seven physiographic areas included in the highest level classification in that country. That country calls this primary classification level "region." For some of the seven regions, a subregion schema is provided. For other physiographic regions (such as the Interior Plains and Appalachian Uplands) subregions are not developed, but the tertiary level (called "division" in Canada) is used in the mapping data.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Secretariat |first=Treasury Board of Canada |title=Physiographic Regions of Canada - Open Government Portal |url=https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/a3dfbaf4-1b20-4061-aa0a-e7a79953f52d |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=open.canada.ca}}</ref>
The following list is of the 14 physiographic divisions in the Interior Plains of Canada. Further information can be found at https://atlas.gc.ca/phys/en/index.html
* Alberta Plain * [[Alberta Plateau]] * Anderson Plain * Colville Hills * Cypress Hills * Fort Nelson Lowland * Great Bear Plain * Great Slave Plain * Horton Plain * Manitoba Plain * Peace River Lowland * Peel Plain * Peel Plateau * Saskatchewan Plain
===Interior Plains in the United States===
The following is a breakdown of the secondary (provinces), and tertiary (sections) physiographic areas of the Interior Plains portion in the United States:<ref>{{Cite web |title=USGS Science Data Catalog |url=https://data.usgs.gov/datacatalog/data/USGS:e04ea9e9-17b6-45ae-b279-7bc35ea79539 |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=data.usgs.gov}}</ref>
====Central Lowland==== * [[Dissected Till Plains]] * Eastern Lake * [[Osage Plains]] * Till Plains * Western Lake * Wisconsin Driftless
====Great Plains==== * [[Black Hills]] * Central Texas * [[Colorado Piedmont]] * [[Edwards Plateau]] * [[High Plains (United States)|High Plains]] * [[Missouri Coteau|Missouri Plateau]], Glaciated * [[Missouri Coteau|Missouri Plateau]], Unglaciated * Pecos Valley * Plains Border * Raton
====Interior Low Plateau==== * [[Highland Rim]] * Lexington Rim * [[Nashville Basin]]
== See also == {{Div col|colwidth=22em}} * [[Great Plains]] :* [[Shortgrass prairie]] :* [[Mixed grass prairie]] :* [[Tallgrass prairie]] * [[Prairie]] * [[Prairies Ecozone]] * [[Canadian Prairies]] * [[Geography of North America]] {{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/province/INDEXgrplainssp.gif USGS map showing the subdivisions of the Interior Plains Province within the US] * [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/physiographic-regions Physiographic Regions], ''[[Canadian Encyclopedia]]'' (March 2015)
{{Physiographic regions}} {{Regions of the United States}}
[[Category:Geography of Alberta]] [[Category:Geography of Manitoba]] [[Category:Geography of Saskatchewan]] [[Category:Geography of the United States]] [[Category:Physiographic regions of Canada]] [[Category:Physiographic regions of the United States]] [[Category:Plains of Canada]] [[Category:Plains of the United States]]