Powell was describing, of course, the naturally occurring vegetation one saw while traveling from east to west in the 19th century. Weather systems divert moisture from the Gulf of Mexico easterly from this point. In the late nineteenth century there developed a line of longitude in the United States that represented the boundary between the moist east and the arid west. This sign indicates why: People west of the line had trouble obtaining insurance and loans for farms. While the climate divide is nota literal line, it is about the closest thing aroundarid on one side, relatively wet on the other. The Dust Bowl droughts of the 1930s led to larger farms amid the Great Plains for that reason, he says. The Meridian time zone is Central Daylight Time which is 6 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). a member and you'll be able to add historical markers, post comments, save favorites, check in, and They participated through the National Science Foundations Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. Sure, if you stop the history at 1925. Location: Dodge City, KS 67801 Ford County [2] It can be traced to Stephen H. Long's 1820 scientific expedition which put the Great American Desert on the map.[3][4]. Facebook, Follow us on When you keep taking from the land or in this sense, land rape, theres no question that adverse change is going to occur. Kevin Krajick In this treaty, the intersection of the 100th Meridian with the Arkansas River (located approximately one half mile south) was fixed as one corner. When we look at modern maps, we can see that soybeans, wheat, and corn are most common to the east of the line but not to the west. All rights reserved. In addition to Oklahoma, it splits North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Texas. Perhaps best of all, US-83 manages to transnavigate this broad, odd nation, albeit north-to-south, without once grazing a conventional tourist attraction. An official roadside marker erected in 1955 informs motorists that, For two generationCompanies and other world-wide lending agencies would not, as a matter of agreed policy, lend a shiny dime west of this line. When the Pacific Railway Act was revised in 1864, granting westbound construction of the transcontinental railroad to the first company to reach the 100th meridian, the race was on. In Powells time, like today, North Americas 100th meridian marked a steep drop-off in population density from east to west, Seager says. Westernpoliticians hated the idea, fearingit might limit development and their own power, and it never went anywhere. The 100 th Meridian West is an imaginary line on the map that happens to mark the climate divide between the humid east and arid west in North America. [citation needed], Whether the agricultural productivity of the region in modern times can continue for much longer is in doubt. In his 1878 Report on the Lands of the Arid Region of the United States, Powell identified the arid region as the land west of the 51-centimeter-per-year rainfall line, which closely tracked the 100th meridian. In the northernplains, rainfall has not changed much, but temperatures are going up,increasing evaporation from the soil. So how does this claim corroborate an earlier document athttps://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/precipitation-change that show precipitation increases likely for the area and recent temperature and rainfall changes for Northwestern corn belt. This marker can also be identified by its HM code. All else being constant, Seager says, as the effective 100th meridian encroaches eastward, farmers will likely shift from corn to wheat, or other less water-intensive crops, as corn yields decrease and become less profitable. They confirm that thedivide has turned out to be real, as reflected by population andagriculture on opposite sides. At the western margin of the zone the arid lands proper are reached.. Who would have ever thought Urban Rooftop Gardens would ever become so important in feeding mankind. "There are many reasons why the 100th Meridian is significant to this area. The local inhabitants came to realize the area was at the time well suited for farming, due in part to the fact that large portions of the region sit atop one of the world's largest groundwater reservoirs, the Ogallala Aquifer. Powell traversed the country in the late 1870s, he confirmed the location of the 100th meridian. White settlement, spreading westward after the American Civil War, settled the area around this meridian during the 1870s. Marker Project, 3RiverDev Its grim moniker, The Road to Nowhere, is alternately unfair and then not severe enough, for the route navigates some of the widest and most aesthetically challenged landscapes in the countrythe yawn-inducing rolling grasslands of the northern Great Plains, the beefy expanses of western Nebraska and Kansas, and the mesmerizing heat of the Texas-Oklahoma Panhandlebefore following the lower Rio Grande south to the Gulf of Mexico. South of the River was the Republic of Texas; west of the 100th Meridian was Old Mexico. The 100th meridian west (solid line) has long been considered the divide between the relatively moist eastern United States, and the more arid West. ThoughtCo, Aug. 27, 2020, thoughtco.com/100th-meridian-of-earth-1435087. Manitoba and other southerly provinces of course have the same Great Plains as the US. It started in 2011,it was around that time we had one of the worst droughts. check in. The researchers then calculated and plotted the aridity index across the U.S. from 1979 to 2016. That is because wheat grows better in drier climates, whereas corn requires a warm, humid climate. Smaller farms came with the land grants in the 1830s, and therefore stay to this day. Many family members are farmers & ranchers throughout the central US. Seager, along with fellow climate scientist Mingfang Ting of LDEO, began studying the geography and climate along the 100th meridian, enlisting the help of Nathan Lis, an undergraduate at Penn State, and Jamie Rose Feldman, an undergraduate at Columbia. Twitter, Follow us on It makes sense that warmer temperatures would contribute to more rapid evaporation thus encouraging the aridity moving eastward. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/100th-meridian-of-earth-1435087. It spreads forth into undulating and treeless plains and desolate sandy wastes, wearisome to the eye in their extent and monotony. Is this marker missing? Either way, this is pushing aridity eastward. Passing westward, species after species of luxuriant grass and brilliant flowering plants disappear; the ground gradually becomes naked, with bunch grasses here and there; now and then a thorny cactus is seen, and the yucca plant thrusts out its sharp bayonets. Today, his description would only partly apply; the luxuriant grass of theeastern prairie was long ago plowed under for corn and other crops, leaving only scraps oforiginallandscape. Historically, the meridian has often been taken as a rough boundary between the eastern and western United States. The trees starting leaf dropping and browning in late july and august. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy. This sign in Dodge City, Kan., marks the 100th meridian, which passes through the town. "E-Mail & Home Page" Credit: image by Robert Simmon, NASA's Earth Observatory, based on data provided by the Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, Columbia University. To promote future study have you any info as to where, lets call it the arid line, manifested it self in say 1828, 1778, 1728 and so on. Seager says there is only one other such major straight-lineclimate divide on the global map: theone separating the Sahara Desert from the rest of Africa, also due to cutoffs of prevailing oceanic winds. Much of the land west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains region was once claimed by France. WE better wise up to the reality of climate changes. The 100th Meridian Initiative, for example, is a project among local, state, provincial, regional and federal agencies to prevent the spread of invasive species, like zebra mussels, from the East to the West. Dodge City, Kansas. Map of the Road to Nowhere through Southern Texas. It hasnt helped that Colorado has dammed the Arkansas rendering the region through KS without some of the water. I agree with the premise of the studies, however. Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 100th meridian west passes through: In the United States the meridian 100 west of Greenwich forms the eastern border of the Texas panhandle with Oklahoma (which traces its origin to the Adams-Ons Treaty in 1819 which settled the border between New Spain and the United States between the Red River and Arkansas River). Zebulon Pike had already crossed that invisible obstacle and had informed Americans that the uninhabitable Great American Desert lay beyond. In summer, moisture from the Gulf of Mexico moves northward, but that also curves eastward, again providing the East withrain, while the West gets cheated. The 100th Meridian, Where East Meets West (HM18DU). This study is rigorously and for the most part correctly done. Well here it is 2022 fall, and I live in missouri and can attest to the fact we are becoming more arid. They appearin the current edition of the journal Earth Interactions. The conservationist was the first to mark the transition line, which became known as 100th Meridian because it closely follows the 100th meridian of longitude (a vertical line that stretches from the North to South Poles). Later the 100th Meridian in this area was the west boundary of the Osage Indian Lands.". (Fort Wayne, Indiana), At or near 546-598 Central Ave, Dodge City KS 67801, US. The title of this article is disingenuous, misleading, and detracts from the studies it references. The Gobi, on the other hand, is due to the rain shadow caused by the recent uplift of the Himalayas between the 4th and 14th centuries. Creating the Map This is the result. Running south to north, the meridian cuts northward through the eastern states of Mexico, and on to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, and the Canadian province of Manitoba on its way to . Map of the Road to Nowhere through Central Texas. The 1980s killed this region. Santa Fe Trail Research Site The meridian 100 west of the Prime Meridian of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. Instagram, Follow us on The dust bowl was allowing open tiled plains ground go be subjected to plains winds. According to the drought monitor we have been under a moderate drought for a year, and thats not normal for where we are. And every year we have some level of drought. (Kevin Krajick/Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory). Cross-Country Adventures on America's Two-Lane Highways. From there, into the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The science of climate change is under attack by those who have a vested interest in preserving the status quo that got us where we are. As a result, data collected since about 1980 suggests that the statistical divide between humid and arid has now shifted closer to the98th meridian, some 140miles east. Impact farming? "I wanted to bring this particular area of history to the attention of the people of Dodge City and its visitors," said Snapp. The term Great American Desert was used in the 19th century to describe the part of North America east of the Rocky Mountains to about the 100th meridian. "[9] Descriptions such as Irving's led some geography textbooks of the time to show sand dunes and camels in the area of what is now Kansas and Nebraska. In the United States, this meridian roughly marks the boundary between the semi-arid climate in the west and the humid continental and humid subtropical climates in the east and is used as shorthand to refer to that arid-humid boundary. , "Experience teaches that it is not wise to depend upon rainfall where the amount is less than 20 inches annually. The meridian 100 west of the Prime Meridian of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The limitation is that they have not considered the role of technology in changing farm sizes throughout the U.S. Hello Numeosium! [7], These perceptions were echoed by Washington Irving, who wrote in 1836 "The region, which resembles one of the ancient steppes of Asia, has not inaptly been termed The Great American Desert. But he is confident that aridity will perceptibly move eastward during the 21st century, and eventually effect large-scale changes. the contents of this service without the expressed written When John Wesley Powell first noted the dividing line between the humid East and the dry West as running along the 100th meridian, his goal was to persuade the federal government to bear in mind the West's aridity when planning for settlement and development in the western territories. When Thomas Jefferson initiated the Louisiana Purchase from France, the south and west boundaries were either poorly defined or were also claimed by Spain. Im a 43 year old Kansas plainsman. Follow that line up through the Oklahoma panhandle into Kansas and it passes through Dodge City. This change in the environment of this area has everything to do with mans inept and destructive monoculture of the area as can be proved by the dust bowl after farming the area for only 50 years. Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? Historical Marker: Mars Hill College #HMF2D #HistoricalMarker @TweetsByHMP about 7 hours ago. They estimated potential evapotranspiration the amount of water the atmosphere could potentially extract from the surface from the land based on temperature, wind speed, solar radiation and relative humidity. 247 MILES FROM OMAHA.". It cuts through six U.S. states, forming a partial boundary between Oklahoma and Texas. John Wesley Powell Photo on The 100th Meridian Marker, 6. Although Powell had by then been named second director of the U.S. Geological Survey, owing to his knowledge of the geological makeup of North America, he did not succeed with his proposal. Large expanses of cropland may fail altogether, and have to be converted to western-style grazing range. YouTube, Follow us on The approximately 827,000 square mile territory was purchased for $15 million and doubled the size of the country., The land on which Dodge City sets was included in the Louisiana Territory. I suspect the argument will be that the evapotranspiration in summer will be much higher, but recent weather changes since 1970s in this area have been to the contrary (fewer high summer day temps, mostly higher night time lows). Weather systems divert moisture from the Gulf of Mexico easterly from this point. Some current estimates predict the usefulness of the aquifer for agriculture to lessen and become useless, perhaps as soon as the early parts of the mid-21st century, leading some farmers to turn away from aquifer-irrigated agriculture. The land to the west and south of the river remained for a time under the control of Spain's Mexican colony., After the United States acquired the area south of the Arkansas River from Mexico, the 100th Meridian was used as the western boundary of the Osage Indian Reservation. To the west the climate becomes more arid and the land slopes gently upwards to the Rocky Mountains., Text resource: Geography at About - http://geography.about.com. [7] In 1823, Major Stephen Long, a government surveyor and leader of the next official exploration expedition, produced a map labeling the area as the "Great American Desert. In the past, the term "desert" had two somewhat incompatible meanings. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); A nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. The isohyetal or mean rainfall line of 20 inchesin a general waymay be represented by the 100th meridian. On October 5, 1868, the Union Pacific Railroad reached the 100th Meridian and placed a sign marking the accomplishment of reaching the symbolic west by stating "100th MERIDIAN. Marked with a limestone post marker the 100th Meridian I own farmland east of the 100 meridian but west of the 98 meridian so this article has impact on my financial well-being. Their weapons include monitoring, reporting, education and a 24X7 national hotline staffed by a live person, 1-877-STOP-ANS. Ohh and all those smokers who did not heed the warning? We dont have that in Kansas. This amount of rainfall per year is about the minimum that permits farming without irrigation, and it also greatly influences the types of crops that can be grown. New research shows a sharp aridity gradient still exists, but it's moved east a bit, closer to the 98th meridian. In the United States, the 100th Meridian passes through the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. As South Dakotans could observe, the 100th Meridian is simply another way of parceling out East River and West River, with all the cultural differences that entails. Now, 140 years later,in two just-published papers, scientists examine how the 100th meridianhas played out in history, and what the future may hold. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. In the United States, the effects show up inobvious ways. He described the effect of that change: On the east a luxuriant growth of grass is seen, and the gaudy flowers of the order Compositae make the prairie landscape beautiful. Touch for directions. Jerry Penry, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons When explorer and geologist J.W. Climate models predict it will move farther eastward in coming decades. Across the Kansas line, beyond the northern boundary of the OutIet, was a belt of land two and one-half miles wide and laying along the 37th parallel, known as The Cherokee Strip. And unless farmers turn to irrigation or otherwise adapt, they will have to switch from corn to wheat or some other more suitable crop. I believe that using only rainfall levels would be a better gauge on what is arid and what is not.". Farms are fewer, but bigger, reflecting the economics of less water and lower productivity. Neither the [unnamed] geographer nor the Insurance Companies had been west of 100 degrees. The sign concludes: The 100th Meridian is just another bad memory.. ca2699@columbia.edu. They appearin the current edition of the journal Earth Interactions. Us up here would be very interested to know how we will be drying out. Millions of acres have also been returned to range land as they should have been all along. On the east a luxuriant growth of grass is seen, and the gaudy flowers of the order Compositae make the prairie landscape beautiful. It figures prominently in many other designations . To the east, 70 percent of the crop is moisture-loving corn; to the west,aridity-resistant wheat is dominant. The 100th Meridian, Where the Great Plains Begin, May Be Shifting, Columbia University in the City of New York, Marine Geology & Geophysics/Seismology, Geology & Tectonophysics Seminars, slowly moving eastward, due toclimate change, Towering Wildfire Clouds Are Affecting the Stratosphere, and the Climate, Ancient Eggshell Fragments Crack Giant Elephant Birds Life Secrets, New Partnership Invites Black Students to Explore the High Seas, Q&A With French Geophysicist and 2020 Vetlesen Prize Winner Anny Cazenave, Cataloging the Past for Clues to Future Climate Adaptation. [In this region] agriculturalists will early resort to irrigation.". For more insight into each stop along the route, our content is arranged by state. (917) 370-1407 The meridian itself is still registered inpopular imagination: among them, historical roadside signs, books such Wallace Stegners Beyond the Hundredth Meridian, and the Canadian rock hit At the Hundredth Meridian.Its a reminder that climate really matters, then as it doestoday, said Seager. Your support keeps our unbiased, nonprofit news free. Two new papers find that the line that divides the moist East and arid West is edging eastward due toclimate changeand the implications for farming and other pursuits could be huge. Cozad, Nebraska has a 100th Meridian Museum and there is a highway marker in South Dakota. The implications for farming and other pursuits could be huge. It was the result of an early survey, which later proved to have been incorrect. Seagers team identifies two other factors. Just look for Dodge City, in the lower western third of the state. Todays climate exhibit: The 100th Meridian the famous dividing line that separates Americas wet East from the dry West has migrated 140 miles east since 1980. (In Texas, this would move it roughly from Abilene to Fort Worth.) There, it constitutes up to 70 percent of cropland, but to the west of the boundary, corn accounts for less than 20 percent of cropland, according to the researchers. Dodge City, Kansas lies exactly at the intersection of the Arkansas River and the 100th meridian. , - John Wesley Powell, 1879, Dodge City lies on the 100th Meridian, the 100th longitudinal line west of Greenwich, England. Canada. If so, Historical hashtag #HM18DU in tweets, and any On top of that, no farmer alive today will have to worry about it which is what makes this such a silly story to begin with. Clearly, the bad weather is caused by humans Global Alarmist crowd doesnt think much of the intelligence of the rest of us. To the east of the 100th Meridian, average annual precipitation is in excess of twenty inches. Other nearby markers. [citation needed], By the mid-19th century, people had begun settling in the region despite its poor reputation. The Adams-Onis Treaty with Spain established the intersection of the 100th Meridian and the Arkansas River (now in south Dodge) as a corner of the boundary between the United States and Spain. Now,warming climateappears to be pushing the divide east. Both farming and water management will be affected by these changes in coming decades, the team noted. In 1890,Powell wrote, Passing from east to west across this belt a wonderful transformation is observed. The first plant life was Cynobacteria and it helped to flood earth with at least part of the oxygen it needed. Powell talked eloquently about the 100th meridian, and this concept of a boundary line has stayed with us down to the current day, said Richard Seager, a climate scientist at Columbia Universitys Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and lead author of both papers. When the United States government established Fort Dodge for its strategic location on the Santa Fe Trail, the site selected was to the east and within miles of the 100th meridian. It's simple to do. The 100th Meridian, although an imaginary line on the surface of the earth, has long symbolized the end of the east and the beginning of the west. By clicking Sign Up, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Hachette Book Groups Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Powell, bestknown for exploring theGrand Canyonand other Western places, was wary of settlement inthat often harshregion, and triedconvincingCongress tolay outwater and land-management districts crossing state linestodeal with environmental constraints. As a result, data collected since about 1980 suggests that the statistical divide between humid and arid has now shifted closer to the98th meridian, some 140miles east. I doubt the situation will change THAT drastically or rapidly. THip song holds true, 28 years later. Back: 100th Meridian Motel, On U.S. 50 West Edge, Dodge City, Kansas. Im a retired meteorologist, geologist, & engineer who grew up in North Dakota & now lives in Texas. As far as the aridity appearing narrower in North Dakota. Physiography aside, this routes cultural landscape centers on small but self-sufficient farm or cattle communities that date back to the last days of the Wild West and that are far enough off the tourist trail to retain an unselfconscious, aw-shucks quaintness. Marker is in this post office area: Dodge City KS 67801, United States of America. It was the 100thmeridian west,the longitude heidentified as theboundary between thehumid eastern United States and the arid Western plains. By the middle of the 19th century, as settlers migrated across the plains to Oregon and California, the wasteland connotation of "desert" was seen to be false, but the sense of the region as uninhabitable remained until irrigation and railroad transportation made up for the lack of surface water and wood. permission of the American Geosciences Institute is expressly 37 45.177 N, 100 1.012 W. Marker is in Dodge City, Kansas, in Ford County. That same year, Powell sought a wider audience, since his original 1878 report to Congress had been largely ignored. CO2 plant water eficiency? It was not the first timepoliticians would ignore the advice of scientists. The only newsroom focused on exploring solutions at the intersection of climate and justice. This area could become dryer if current projections of climate play out. We are also very good at crop management now. In 1878, American geologist and explorer John Wesley Powelldrew an invisibleline in the dirtalong line. In 1879, U.S. Geological Survey head John Wesley Powell established the boundary in a report of the west that has carried to this day. The line was the 100th Meridian, one hundred degrees of longitude west of Greenwich. The line was not solely selected for its neat round number it actually approximates the twenty-inch isohyet (a line of equal precipitation). During the 20th century, much of that vegetation was replaced with farmed crops; woodlands were cut down, and wetlands were drained. Is there a map that continues on to Canada? It was long thought that treeless lands were not good for agriculture, thus the term "desert" also had the connotation of "unfit for farming". The boundary passes through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas Americas breadbasket. He created this map delineating western watersheds in 1890, and proposed that each one be designated a "commonwealth" for the purpose of regulating its water usage, which would remain under federal control. Good luck sirving ever increasing fire storms and floods and food scarcity and the future housing crisis. Extending from the North to South Poles, the 100th runs longitudinally in the U.S. from North Dakota through Texas. Kansas, for its part faces a straight westerly impact generallyeven though its smack dab in the place for severe sudden weathertheres little rain involved in that. That made me think, he says, that the arid-humid divide was reflected in the social and economic realm. But how did this come about? An interpretive sign that describes the importance of the 100th Meridian has been placed across the street from the Santa Fe Depot on Wyatt Earp Boulevard. The 100th Meridian is the imaginary north-south line of 100 degrees west longitude as determined from the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, England, which represents 0 degrees longitude. We wanted to ask whether there really is such a divide, and whether its influenced human settlement.He calls the studies an example of psychogeographythe examination of how environment affects human decisions. Follow that line up through the Oklahoma panhandle into Kansas and it passes through Dodge City. Seagers team identifies two other factors. Charts need to be drawn up on the speed of progression so a logical causation can be named. Reader support helps sustain our work. The 100th Meridian passes through the U.S. from the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, north through Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Running south to north, the meridian cutsthrougheasternMexico,Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas,andtheCanadian province of Manitoba on its way to the pole. At present, corn is the dominant crop in the east, especially in the northern Plains. Have you seen this marker? But we may have to change the lines name someday. That is when he decided to find and mark its location. In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson acquired this territory in what became known as the Louisiana Purchase. Water supplies could also become a problem for urban areas. Where the 100th Meridian crossed the Arkansas River was the southwest corner of the Louisiana Territory. The rainfall divide is moving east. I suggest that the continuing uplift of the Pacific coastal ranges may also be playing a part. . In fact, the study actually states that the 100th Meridian BISECTS the Great Plains & delineates the arid/humid divide. I think older generations have given up on the notion that there will be land left for their grandchildren. Are the coordinates wrong? "Forever". Feel free to open the image in another tab and view it in full size. There are swift-flowing rivers which dash through jagged caons; and there are enormous plains, which in winter are white with snow, and in summer are grey with the saline alkali dust. What historical period does the marker represent? Winter ground coverage, crop rotation, new cropscottoneven hemp now. I have driven and witnessed the line in Texas in the I10 it would be nice to see some photos of this. When the region was obtained by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, President Jefferson wrote of the "immense and trackless deserts" of the region.