Missouri Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Geography== {{Main|Geography of Missouri}} [[File:National-atlas-missouri.png|thumb|upright=1.5]] Missouri borders eight different states, a figure equaled only by its neighbor, Tennessee. Missouri is bounded by [[Iowa]] on the north; by [[Illinois]], [[Kentucky]], and [[Tennessee]] across the Mississippi River on the east; on the south by [[Arkansas]]; and by [[Oklahoma]], [[Kansas]], and [[Nebraska]] (the last across the Missouri River) on the west. Whereas the northern and southern boundaries are straight lines, the [[Missouri Bootheel]] extends south between the [[St. Francis River|St. Francis]] and the [[Mississippi River|Mississippi]] rivers. The two largest rivers are the Mississippi (which defines the eastern boundary of the state) and the Missouri River (which flows from west to east through the state), essentially connecting the two largest metros of Kansas City and St. Louis. Although today it is usually considered part of the [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.midwest.htm |title=Midwest Region Economy at a Glance |publisher=Bls.gov |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917003753/http://bls.gov/eag/eag.midwest.htm |archive-date=September 17, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Missouri was historically seen by many as a [[Border states (American Civil War)|border state]], chiefly because of the settlement of migrants from the South and its status as a slave state before the Civil War, balanced by the influence of St. Louis. The counties that made up "[[Little Dixie (Missouri)|Little Dixie]]" were those along the Missouri River in the center of the state, settled by Southern migrants who held the greatest concentration of slaves. In 2005, Missouri received 16,695,000 visitors to its national parks and other recreational areas totaling {{convert|101000|acre|km2}}, giving it $7.41 million in annual revenues, 26.6% of its operating expenditures.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book |title=''Almanac of the 50 States'' (Missouri) |publisher=Information Publications (Woodside, California) |year=2008 |page=203}}</ref> ===Topography=== [[File:US mo physiographic map.jpg|thumb|left|A physiographic map of Missouri]] North of, and in some cases just south of, the Missouri River lie the Northern Plains that stretch into Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas. Here, rolling hills remain from the [[glaciation]] that once extended from the Canadian Shield to the Missouri River. Missouri has many large river bluffs along the Mississippi, Missouri, and [[Meramec River]]s. Southern Missouri rises to the [[Ozark Mountains]], a [[dissected plateau]] surrounding the [[Precambrian]] [[igneous]] [[St. Francois Mountains]]. This region also hosts [[karst topography]] characterized by high limestone content with the formation of sinkholes and caves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mostateparks.com/karst.htm |title=Missouri's Karst Wonderland—Missouri State Parks and Historic Sites, DNR |publisher=Mostateparks.com |date=June 6, 2008 |access-date=February 20, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100228195535/http://www.mostateparks.com/karst.htm |archive-date=February 28, 2010 }}</ref> [[File:Bell Mountain.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.6|The [[Bell Mountain Wilderness]] of southern Missouri's [[Mark Twain National Forest]]]] The southeastern part of the state is known as the [[Missouri Bootheel]] region, which is part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain or [[Mississippi embayment]]. This region is the lowest, flattest, warmest, and wettest part of the state. It is also among the poorest, as the economy there is mostly agricultural.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ded.mo.gov/researchandplanning/community/misc/sa-1102-1.stm |title=Income Inequality in Missouri |publisher=Ded.mo.gov |date=December 21, 2001 |access-date=July 31, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107144051/http://ded.mo.gov/researchandplanning/community/misc/sa-1102-1.stm |archive-date=January 7, 2010 }}</ref> It is also the most fertile, with cotton and rice crops predominant. The Bootheel was the epicenter of the four [[1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes|New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812]]. ===Climate=== {{Main|Climate of Missouri}} [[File:Missouri Köppen.svg|thumb|Köppen climate types of Missouri]] Missouri generally has a [[humid continental climate]] with cool, sometimes cold, winters and hot, humid, and wet summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the [[Missouri Bootheel|Bootheel]], the climate becomes [[humid subtropical climate|humid subtropical]]. Located in the interior United States, Missouri often experiences extreme temperatures. Without high mountains or oceans nearby to moderate temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico. Missouri's highest recorded temperature is {{convert|118|F|C}} at [[Warsaw, Missouri|Warsaw]] and [[Union, Missouri|Union]] on July 14, 1954, while the lowest recorded temperature is {{convert|-40|F|C}} also at Warsaw on February 13, 1905. Located in [[Tornado Alley]], Missouri also receives extreme weather in the form of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. On May 22, 2011, a [[2011 Joplin tornado|massive EF-5 tornado]] killed 158 people and destroyed roughly one-third of the city of [[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]]. The tornado caused an estimated $1–3 billion in damages, killed 159 people and injured more than a thousand. It was the first EF5 to hit the state since 1957 and the deadliest in the U.S. since 1947, making it the seventh deadliest tornado in American history and 27th deadliest in the world. [[St. Louis]] and its suburbs also have a history of experiencing particularly severe tornadoes, the most recent one of note being an EF4 that damaged [[Lambert-St. Louis International Airport]] on April 22, 2011. [[1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado|One of the worst tornadoes in American history]] struck St. Louis on May 27, 1896, killing at least 255 people and causing $10 million in damage (equivalent to $3.9 billion in 2009 or ${{Formatprice| {{Inflation|US|3900000000|2009|r=2}}}} in today's dollars). {| class="wikitable" "text-align:center;font-size:88%;" | colspan="16" style="text-align:center;font-size:120%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Missouri cities in °F (°C). |- ! City !! Avg. !! Jan!! Feb!! Mar!! Apr!! May!! Jun!! Jul!! Aug!! Sep!! Oct!! Nov!! Dec !!Year !! |- {{Average temperature table/row/F| [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]]|High|37 44 55 66 75 84 89 87 79 68 53 42 65.0}} {{Average temperature table/row/F| Columbia|Low|18 23 33 43 53 62 66 64 55 44 33 22 43.0}} |- {{Average temperature table/row/F| [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]|High|36 43 54 65 75 84 89 87 79 68 52 40 64.4}} {{Average temperature table/row/F| Kansas City|Low|18 23 33 44 54 63 68 66 57 46 33 22 44.0}} |- {{Average temperature table/row/F| [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]]|High|42 48 58 68 76 85 90 90 81 71 56 46 67.6}} {{Average temperature table/row/F| Springfield|Low|22 26 35 44 53 62 67 66 57 46 35 26 45.0}} |- {{Average temperature table/row/F| [[St. Louis]]|High|40 45 56 67 76 85 89 88 80 69 56 43 66.2}} {{Average temperature table/row/F| St. Louis|Low|24 28 37 47 57 67 71 69 61 49 38 27 48.0}} |- | colspan="16" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Source:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-missouri/ |title=Missouri Weather And Climate |access-date=July 17, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505201459/http://www.ustravelweather.com/missouri |archive-date=May 5, 2011 }}</ref> <!--<ref name="weather.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMO0787?from=36hr_bottomnav_undeclared |title=Average Weather for St. Louis, MO—Temperature and Precipitation |publisher=Weather.com |access-date=December 31, 2011}}</ref>--> |} [[File:Lake of the Ozarks - Missouri (40533516433).jpg|thumb|The [[Lake of the Ozarks]] is one of several man-made lakes in Missouri, created by the damming of several rivers and tributaries. The lake has a surface area of 54,000 acres and 1,150 miles of shoreline and has become a popular tourist destination.]] ===Wildlife=== {{Main|Wildlife of Missouri}} [[File:Lower Missouri River.jpg|thumb|right|Missouri River near [[Rocheport, Missouri]]]] Missouri is home to diverse [[flora]] and [[fauna]], including several [[Endemism|endemic]] species.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Missouri's High Country|url=https://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2005/10/missouris-high-country|access-date=June 19, 2020|website=Missouri Department of Conservation|archive-date=June 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200622033327/https://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2005/10/missouris-high-country|url-status=dead}}</ref> There is a large amount of [[fresh water]] present due to the [[Mississippi River]], [[Missouri River]], [[Table Rock Lake]] and [[Lake of the Ozarks]], with numerous smaller tributary rivers, streams, and lakes. North of the Missouri River, the state is primarily rolling hills of the [[Great Plains]], whereas south of the Missouri River, the state is dominated by the Oak-Hickory [[Central U.S. hardwood forest]]. ===Forests=== Recreational and commercial uses of public forests, including grazing, logging, and mining, increased after World War{{spaces}}II. Fishermen, hikers, campers, and others started lobbying to protect forest areas with a "wilderness character". During the 1930s and 1940s [[Aldo Leopold]], [[Arthur Carhart]] and [[Bob Marshall (wilderness activist)|Bob Marshall]] developed a "wilderness" policy for the Forest Service. Their efforts bore fruit with the [[Wilderness Act of 1964]], which designated wilderness areas "where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by men, where man himself is a visitor and does not remain." This included [[secondary forest|second growth]] public forests like the [[Mark Twain National Forest]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Farmer |first1=Charles J. |title=A Personal Guide to Missouri Wilderness |date=1999 |publisher=University of Missouri Press |pages=9–13}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page