Preconceived Notions

Kansas is flat.

Flat, flat, flat, flat flat.

Or is it?

We drove over 400 miles from east to west, and OK, most of Kansas is really flat. But not all of it. Had we trusted all that we had heard about Kansas we would have driven through Arkansas. Instead we decided to test conventional wisdom about Kansas' flatness. And we found hills.

The Flint Hills are mainly located in east-central Kansas, between Emporia and Manhattan (Readers-it's map time again). A long, long time ago, Kansas was under a shallow sea. When the seas receded, this area was left with deposits of limestone and shale. Erosion caused hills to form, and fossilized rock known as chert or flint was left behind. Due to the rocky soil, plowing proved an impossibility resulting in cattle ranching becoming the primary industry on the prairie. The beauty of this region is subtle, with emerald colored grassy hills, speckled with stones and rocks that have pushed their way up into the daylight. These green hills stand in relief to the more prevalent brown flatness that surround them.

A hike in the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve enabled us to spend a few hours admiring the beauty of the Flint Hills. Long before the white man trampled upon the plains, grasses over five feet high covered the prairie from Canada to Texas. A sea of bison from horizon to horizon grazed on the nutrient rich bluestem grasses. Now, this preserve is the last contiguous prairie left. As we walked the trail, I tried to imagine the grasses stretching endlessly. Purple, yellow and red wildflowers poking up from the brown grass provide some contrast to the green hills in the background. The warm, southerly wind passing through the giant cottonwood trees and the bellowing of the grazing cattle provided the only break in the silence.

 After leaving the Flint Hills and driving west past just planted wheat fields and passing through dismal farm towns, we found ourselves in the northwestern part of the state. The elevation gain of 800 feet meant that we were now on the fringe of the high plains. Think Clint Eastwood and tumbleweeds. Rocky outcroppings began to appear, and although the land was still very flat, it began to have the feel of the old west. Towns with broken down houses that the highway and railway abandoned years before provided some break to the monotony.

One hour east of the Colorado border stands a geological marvel called Monument Rocks. Also left over from the receding sea of 80 million years ago, these limestone formations stretch over 70 feet into the clear blue sky. The striations of color that range from bright yellow-brown to very dark gray indicate the many geological events back to prehistoric time. Looking closely we were able to pick out fossils embedded in the rock. Standing away from the monuments one can imagine how the waters rushed through and left the pillars standing as a reminder of our origins.

Kansas flat? Well, yes and no.