A prairie is a land of flat or hilly regions
covered by tall grass. The pioneers, who first saw the
prairies, described them as a sea of grass. Not many prairies
remain in North America, because they were used as farming
land. One prairie in North America extends from Texas to
Saskatchewan.
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Prairies have hot summers and cold winters. Summer temperatures can be over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter temperatures can be under -40 degrees Fahrenheit. Most get 20-35 inches of rain a year. The west side of a prairie does not get very much ran, not as much as the east side, and the grass there only grows about two feet. The east side gets much more water than the west. Grass on the east side grows about six feet.
Many animals feed on grass and leaves, others feed on mice and other small animals. Prairie dogs dig underground burrows to hide from enemies. Blackbirds, grouse, meadowlarks, quail, and sparrows live on prairies. Large herds of bison, sometimes called buffalo used to roam the prairies. Coyotes, foxes, and skunks eat smaller animals. Badgers, hawks, owls, and some snakes eat mostly meat. A prairie dog is a burrowing rodent that lives on the prairie. A prairie dog belongs to the squirrel family.
There are lots of flowers on the prairie; there are wildflowers such as asters, blazing stars, cone flowers, goldenrod, and sunflowers. The legumes on the prairie consist of clovers, wild indigos, and orange flowered milkweeds.
When the weather is dry the grass is not good and the soil is not good for farming. Most of the time a prairie has sunny weather, but it changes when it rains; the dirt moves to form a different landscape.
People who live on the prairies usually have jobs like farming, threshing, sewing clothes, and building houses.
1997 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia
1997 World Book Encyclopedia
Art Explosion 40,000 Images. Calabasas, CA: Nova Development