Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north;
Missouri on the east;
Oklahoma on the south;
and Colorado on the west.
The Missouri River forms nearly 75 mi (121 km) of the
state's north~eastern boundary.
Kansas River joins the
Missouri at
Kansas City,
after a course of 170 mi (270 km)
across the north~eastern part of the state.
The Arkansas River, rising in Colorado,
flows with a bending course for nearly 500 mi (800 km)
across the western and southern parts of the state.
Kansas is located equidistant from the Pacific and the
Atlantic oceans.
The eastern 1/3 is more hilly and forested.
The western 2/3 of the state,
lying in the great central plain of the United States,
has a generally flat or undulating surface,
and on a large scale appears almost perfectly flat.
The Flint Hills, in east central
Kansas,
cover several million acres of
virtually treeless prairie. This area contains the
largest segment of true tallgrass
prairie remaining in the U.S.
The land displays a gradual slope up from east to west
from 684 ft (208 m) to 4039 ft (1,231 m).
The east~west span of Kansas is great enough that the sun
rises and sets on the western border 30 minutes later than
on the eastern end.
Kansas is divided by 2 time zones:
Mountain and Central.
Historically, the area was home to large numbers of nomadic
tribes that hunted bison.
For millennia, the land that is presently Kansas
was inhabited by
Native Americans.
The first European set foot
in the area in 1541.
It was first settled by European~Americans in the 1830s.
On January 29, 1861, Kansas entered the Union as a free state.
It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it,
which in turn was named after the Kansa people,
who inhabited the area.
Kansas has a reputation as a
state with many firsts in legislative initiatives.
In response to the violence perpetrated by cowboys,
on February 19, 1881, Kansas became the 1st state to
adopt a Constitutional amendment prohibiting all alcoholic beverages.
The 1st post~Prohibition legalization of alcoholic
liquor did not occur until the state's constitution was
amended in 1948.
Kansas still has
29 dry counties and only 17 counties
have passed liquor~by~the~drink with no food sales requirement.
It was the 1st state to institute a system of
workers' compensation (1910) and to regulate the
securities industry (1911).
Kansas was one of the
1st states to permit women's suffrage (1912).
Today Kansas has an estimated population
of nearly 3 million,
and is one of the slowest~growing states in the nation.
More than 1.5 million people live in the
Kansas City~Lawrence~Topeka metropolitan areas.
WEATHER
All 4 seasons are experienced in Kansas.
Statewide, the average annual temperature is 55 ° F.
The all time highest temperature recorded in Kansas
is 121 ° F (49.4 ° C).
The record low is -40 ° F (-40 ° C).
The average rainfall is 26.5 inches statewide.
Precipitation decreases as you travel west.
The average in southeast Kansas is 45 inches annually.
The western border averages just 15 inches of rain.
The eastern 2/3 of the state has a humid continental climate,
with cold winters and hot summers.
Most of the precipitation falls in the summer and spring.
The western 1/3 of the state has a semiarid steppe climate,
receiving an average of only about 16 in (40 cm)
of precipitation per year.
Summers are hot, often very hot.
Winters are cold in the northwest and cool to mild in the southwest.
Chinook winds in the winter can warm western Kansas
all the way into the 80 ° F (25 ° C) range.
Western Kansas is as sunny as
parts of California
and Arizona.
The far south~central and southeastern reaches
of the state have a humid subtropical climate,
with long, hot summers, short, mild winters,
and much more precipitation than the rest of the state.
Frost~free days range from more than 200 days in the south,
to 130 days in the northwest.
In spite of the frequent sunshine throughout much of the state,
the state is also vulnerable to strong storms,
especially in the spring.
Many of these storms spawn super~cell thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Kansas has reported more tornadoes
(over 50 tornadoes annually)
than any state except for Texas.
ECONOMY
The Kansas Chamber of Commerce
partners with other pro~business organizations and
local chambers of commerce to develop policy
initiatives to grow the economy and provide more
employment opportunities.
The Chamber listens to its membership, forms policy and
a legislative agenda and then takes the issues and
concerns of Kansas businesses directly to the
policy~makers at the Statehouse in Topeka.
Principal crops grown in Kansas
are wheat,
sorghum, hay, and corn.
Approximately 10 million bushels of wheat are harvested each year.
Other agricultural outputs of the state are cattle,
sheep, soybeans, cotton, hogs and salt.
At least 90% of the land area in Kansas
(47 million acres) is devoted to agriculture production.
Kansas ranks 1st
in the United States
for the number of
commercial cattle processed (over 8 million head).
Buffalo have made a comeback in Kansas
with more than 6000 head raised on ranches and refuges.
Industrial outputs are transportation equipment,
commercial and private aircraft, food processing, publishing,
chemical products, machinery, apparel,
oil and natural gas production, petroleum and mining.
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area enjoys
some of the fastest growing populations and
highest median incomes in the state, and in the
entire United States.
SCHOOLS
Education in Kansas is governed primarily by the
Kansas State Board of Education.
The Board is charged with the general supervision of public
education and other educational interests in the state.
While acknowledging the role and importance of
local control, the Board has the responsibility to provide
direction and leadership for the supervision of all
state educational institutions under its jurisdiction.
Twice the Board has approved changes in the
state science curriculum standards that encouraged the
teaching of intelligent design.
Both times, the standards were reversed after the next Board election.
The Kansas State Department of Education promotes the
mission of the Kansas State Board of Education through
leadership and support for student learning.
The use of technology has become as important to learning as
paper and pencils.
For students to be competitive and successful in
life after school and in the workplace,
it is essential for schools to invest in technology.
It appears Kansas
schools have invested well.
Access to technology is better than most
states in the U.S.
For more details please contact the
Kansas State Department of Education .
HOSPITALITY
If you’re looking for new and exciting adventures,
then Kansas is the place you want to be.
History buffs can explore the state’s legendary cowboy towns
or visit countless museums.
Celebrate the state’s pioneer, aviation,
farming and Native American legacies.
Outdoor enthusiasts will be happy to know that
Kansas is still home on the range to the American bison,
which can be viewed up close at 2 of the state’s
wildlife refuges and along the highways in Western Kansas
and the Flint Hills.
For nature lovers, Kansas
is home to the largest remaining stand of tallgrass
prairie in North America, providing a glimpse of
what the continent looked like 200 years ago.
When you travel Kansas, experience the depth and
breadth of scenery this breathtaking state offers by
driving 1 or more of its 9 scenic byways.
For more details please contact
Kansas State Tourism.
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