The
Great Plains is the broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in
prairie,
steppe and
grassland, that lies west of the
Mississippi River tallgrass prairie states and east of the
Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts, but not all, of the states of
Colorado,
Kansas,
Montana,
Nebraska,
New Mexico,
North Dakota,
Oklahoma,
South Dakota,
Texas, and
Wyoming, and the
Canadian provinces of
Alberta,
Manitoba and
Saskatchewan. The region is known for supporting extensive cattle
ranching and
dry farming.