Hey everyone! Justin here. I just went on my very first train ride. Oh, it was so cool! There
were bison, and plains, and rivers, and farms everywhere! I cannot wait to go on another one.
I always wanted to explore the different regions of the United States, so I thought it'd be a good
idea to take a train ride all around the Midwest region. I learned so much and now
I want to be your official tour guide. Welcome to Operation Exploration, where we'll be exploring...
regions of the United States!
In this video, we're going to be learning about some of the landforms, wildlife,
and climate in the Midwest region of the United States. The midwestern states that we're going to
be talking about today are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Maybe you live
in one of these states and already know some of the things we're going to discover today!
The Midwest region has the most amazing landscape. A landscape is all the visible features in an
area. It's got beautiful plains, like this one in South Dakota. It's got amazing forests, like this
one in Minnesota. And it's got some impressive bodies of water, like this one in Illinois. So,
come along with me, and let's take a train ride around the Midwest!
Our first stop is the Great Plains - stretching across the Midwest from North Dakota,
South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas, we can find flat grasslands, areas with little trees, and
fertile farming soil here. Most of the plains are covered in prairie grass and cover over 500,000
square miles. If we make our way back northward to South and North Dakota, we'll come upon some hills
called plateaus. Plateaus are landforms similar to plains since they're flat, but they're at higher
elevations, often surrounded by steep slopes. Take a look at the Ozark Plateau found in Missouri,
and while you're at it, take a look at this photo I snapped at the Ozark Mountains there too.
The highest peak in the Midwest is Missouri's Taum Sauk Mountain, coming in at 1,772 feet high.
Speaking of peaks, check out the Black Hills found in the western part of South Dakota.
These were formed when rock was lifted up from the ground, then wind and water eroded away the
summit of a mountain. I also took some really cool photos of some of the bodies of water that
you could find in the Midwest region too. Rivers and lakes aren't always considered landforms,
but they are naturally occurring physical features of the Earth. So,
some of the Great Lakes that you could find in the Midwest are Lake Erie, Lake Huron, Lake Superior,
and Lake Michigan. There's also Lake Ontario, but that's part of the Northeast region.
The states that border these Great Lakes are Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Missouri River all stretch out across the Midwest
region, going into the West region. And, check out this cool picture of the Yellowstone river
that I found in North Dakota. See, rivers and lakes are often found in valleys. Valleys are
areas of low elevation that can be found between hills and mountains. They're caused by years of
water and ice erosion. Three major valleys that you could find in the Midwest are the Ohio,
Missouri, and Mississippi valleys. The Badlands in South Dakota are also formed from water and
ice erosion, but they're different from other valleys, because they're actually a series of
narrow valleys, ravines, and spotted ridges. The Badlands National Park is the home
to Mount Rushmore. It's also home to one of the world's richest fossil beds,
because ancient mammals like woolly rhinos and saber-toothed cats once walked the Earth here.
Okay, so we've been talking a lot about water, and plains, and plateaus, and mountains, but what
about rocks? Yeah, let's talk about rocks. Rock arches and rock bridges - created from years of
erosion and weathering - these are some of Ohio's most beautiful landforms. One of their largest is
called Rockbridge. It's over a hundred feet long and it spans about 20 feet wide across a ravine.
Take a look at this photo I took of Arch Rock on Mackinac Island in Michigan.
And, most people think of Kansas for its grasslands and plains,
but take a look at this photo I snapped at the Castle Rock State Park.
Okay, so we've been learning a lot about the landforms of the Midwest,
but now I think we're ready to learn about something just as awesome - wildlife.
Let's take a ride to the most southern part of the Midwest and check out some super amazing
animals. Time to choo choo onward! We have arrived in Missouri. Take a look at this guy!
Whoa, slow down there buddy! The Missouri mule is the official state animal of Missouri.
Missouri mules were popular here in the 1800s because they're so strong, they pulled pioneer
wagons into the Wild West. They even helped move troops and supplies during both World Wars!
Speaking of strong animals, let's hop over to Kansas. The American bison is the state animal of
Kansas, and also the national mammal of the United States. An adult bison can weigh 2,000 pounds and
be up to six feet tall! These guys are the largest animals in North America. When the Great Plains
area was only home to the American Indians, about 40 million bison lived here. The European settlers
hunted all but 300 of them. So in 1889, the federal government passed laws to protect them.
11 different states have made the white-tailed deer a state symbol,
and five of them are midwestern states. Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Nebraska.
Let's take a trip to Nebraska for a quick swim. Check out Nebraska's
state fish - the channel catfish. It's also called the spotted cat. This cat-like fish
hunts on the bottoms of rivers at night, eating larva, clams, snails, crayfish, crabs,
and underwater plants. These amazing fish can grow up to 20 pounds!
Iowa does not have a state animal, but I propose the striped skunk. This black and white animal
can release a potent mist or stream at close range to 20 feet to defend themselves against predators.
Although the white-tailed deer is their state animal,
check out the bobcats that can be found all over Illinois!
Between two and three feet long, these guys are barely larger than your average house cat.
They look a little like cougars, but they're smaller and they have yellowish to reddish brown
fur with black spots and streaks. They eat rodents and help keep the rodent populations in check.
Indiana is another midwestern state that hasn't officially designated a state animal,
but they do have an official state bird - the cardinal. These beautiful birds
have red feathers and a cone-shaped beak, perfect for cracking open seeds and nuts.
The oldest known cardinal lived to be almost 16 years old. That's like super old in bird years!
All right, time to slip on back to Ohio. We've already talked about Ohio's state animal,
the white-tailed deer, and their state bird, the cardinal, but we haven't mentioned the Ohio state
amphibian - the spotted salamander. The spotted salamander is a shared state amphibian between
Ohio and South Carolina, a state in the southern region. These underground dwelling nocturnal
salamanders can most often be found around water and woodland areas and in swamps. They have round
bodies with two lines of spots running down their sides, ranging from yellow to gold.
Where's your next- ah, Michigan! If you may remember,
the white-tailed deer is also Michigan's state animal, but their state bird is the robin. Take
a look at all these pictures of robins that I found on my journey. Let's travel around Lake
Michigan to Wisconsin and check out this guy. The bullfrog is the largest frog in the U.S.,
known for its throaty deep call that carries up to a mile. They can be found in ponds,
streams, and marshes listen to this guy croak. If we keep traveling west, we'll arrive in Minnesota.
As I mentioned the white-tailed deer is one of their state animals, but they have more than one.
The black bear is another. You see that these guys are one of the biggest bears in the world! Living
in forests and swamps, there are up to 15,000 in the state. Black bears participate in a type of
seasonal migration, called the fall shuffle. They roam long distances in autumn for food to prepare
for winter. After hibernating for six or seven months, the bears go back to their summer den.
Oh, I have been so excited to show you these photos I took in North Dakota.
The Nakota horse was named the honorary equine of North Dakota in 1993. This rare horse is probably
the last surviving population of wild horses in the state. These wild horses came from the
Badlands, but when the Theodore Roosevelt National Park was developed in the 1950s,
the wild horses were accidentally fenced into the park. During the 1980s, Frank and Leo Koontz
named the Nakotas and registered them as a new breed. Wild horses have been present in
North Dakota since the late 1800s and are an essential part of the state's history.
Directly south of North Dakota, we'll end our adventure here in South Dakota with the coyote.
Native to the desert in the southwest of the U.S., the coyote can now be found throughout America.
South Dakota designated the coyote as their state animal because there's such a large
population here. Coyotes are talkative and loud - often their howl is called the song of the west.
Oh, and they mate for life! The parents care
for their pups together and get them ready for life in the wild.
So, we've covered the landscape and the wildlife of the Midwest. What about the climate? Well, the
lower midwest has a temperate climate. This means it has mild temperatures. Cool to cold winters,
and hot, humid summers. Temperatures can rise and drop rapidly with storms and high wind speeds.
Hot, dry air from Mexico, warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold, dry air from Canada.
When these fronts clash together, they can create hail storms, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes.
The northern Great Plains, from Nebraska throughout the Great Lakes states, have a
humid continental climate. They have four distinct seasons, with warm to hot summers and cold, snowy
winters. Precipitation - that's the rain, snow, sleet, and hail that comes from the sky and falls
to the ground - is evenly distributed throughout the year, with intense early winter storms.
In the Great Lakes states, when cold arctic air meets the warmer
lake air, it could create a heavy lake effect snow, especially in Michigan.
If you travel across Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota, you'll find that the precipitation
decreases into a semi-arid climate. That means that this area doesn't get a lot of rain. In the
northern Midwest, the upper plains states, the local air mass conflicts with the warm,
moist air coming up from the Gulf of Mexico and the cool to cold dry air coming down from Canada
to create severe thunderstorms, hail storms, and tornadoes in their peak during the month of June.
Well, I hope you enjoyed our little trip around the Midwest region! Be sure to check
out our other videos where we explore different regions of the United States.
And in the meantime, remember to always be clever!