Physiographic Regions

Kansas embraces a wide variety of landscapes, shaped by geologic processes in the past and more recently by human activities, such as farming and mining. Based on common landscape features and geological history, geologists have divided Kansas into 11 different regions. Each region tells a unique story about Kansas geology.

• Arkansas River Lowlands — flat alluvial plain made up of sediment deposited by the Arkansas River
• Chautauqua Hills — sandstone-capped rolling hills
• Cherokee Lowlands — gently rolling to flat plain
• Flint Hills — chert-topped hills and tallgrass prairie
• Glaciated Region — glacial drift and quartzite boulders
• High Plains — vast flatlands and gently rolling plains
• Osage Cuestas — gentle slopes and steep cliff-like ridges
• Ozark Plateau — hardwood forests and the oldest rocks found at the surface in Kansas
• Red Hills — rugged hills and red soil
• Smoky Hills — sandstone, limestone, and chalk hills
• Wellington-McPherson Lowlands — flat to rolling alluvial plain

Key to physiographic regions map

Light blue = High Plains, beige = Smoky Hills, dark blue = Arkansas River Lowlands, orange = Red Hills, dark yellow = Wellington-McPherson Lowlands, purple = Glaciated Region, light yellow = Flint Hills, light green = Osage Cuestas, brown = Chautauqua Hills, lime green = Cherokee Lowlands, dark green = Ozark Plateau.