Great_Plains

qas: question: what is the name of the region east of the Rocky Mountains?
answers: text: "Great Plains

question: who brought the term great plains into widespread usage?
answers: text: Nevin Fenneman's

question: what year was Nevin Fenneman's study?
answers: text: 1916

question: what was theregion called before "the great plans"? 
answers: text: the High Plains

question: What region lies east of the 96th or 98th meridian?

question: Who came up with the term High Plains?

question: What area of states lie in the Great Plains?

question: In what century did people start calling what we call the Great Plains the High Plains?
context: The term "Great Plains", for the region west of about the 96th or 98th meridian and east of the Rocky Mountains, was not generally used before the early 20th century. Nevin Fenneman's 1916 study, Physiographic Subdivision of the United States, brought the term Great Plains into more widespread usage. Before that the region was almost invariably called the High Plains, in contrast to the lower Prairie Plains of the Midwestern states. Today the term "High Plains" is used for a subregion of the Great Plains.

qas: question: what type of land is much of the great plans?
answers: text: open range

question: when did ranchers usually have a cattle round up?
answers: text: spring and fall

question: in a cattle round up, what did ranchers do to the new calves?
answers: text: branded

question: from 1866-95 about how many cattle did cowboys herd?
answers: text: 10 million

question: In what year were cattle first left free to roam the Great Plains?

question: How many cowboys did it take to herd 10 million cattle north?

question: How many people lived in Dodge City, Kansas in 1866?

question: Where were the cattle shipped eastward to during the late 1800s?

question: How many cattle went through Dodge City, Kansas between the years 1866-95?
context: Much of the Great Plains became open range, or rangeland where cattle roamed free, hosting ranching operations where anyone was theoretically free to run cattle. In the spring and fall, ranchers held roundups where their cowboys branded new calves, treated animals and sorted the cattle for sale. Such ranching began in Texas and gradually moved northward. In 1866-95, cowboys herded 10 million cattle north to rail heads such as Dodge City, Kansas and Ogallala, Nebraska; from there, cattle were shipped eastward.

qas: question: who was the spanish conquistador who had encounters with europeans and native americans?
answers: text: Francisco Vázquez de Coronado

question: who crossed a section of oklahoma and texas?
answers: text: Hernando de Soto

question: what is the section of oklahoma and texas that  Hernando de Soto traveled?
answers: text: the De Soto Trail

question: who thought the great plains were the locations of Quivira and Cíbola?
answers: text: The Spanish

question: what did the spanish think the cities of Quivira and Cíbola were rich in?
answers: text: gold

question: In what state did Francisco Vazquez de Coronado first encounter Native Americans?

question: In 1540 Europeans first encountered Native Americans in what state?

question: In what year did the De Soto Trail gain its name?

question: What nationality was Hernando de Soto?

question: In what year did Texas become a state?
context: With the arrival of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado, a Spanish conquistador, the first recorded history of encounter between Europeans and Native Americans in the Great Plains occurred in Texas, Kansas and Nebraska from 1540-1542. In that same time period, Hernando de Soto crossed a west-northwest direction in what is now Oklahoma and Texas. Today this is known as the De Soto Trail. The Spanish thought the Great Plains were the location of the mythological Quivira and Cíbola, a place said to be rich in gold.

qas: question: what is the name of the line that divides the great plains?
answers: text: The 100th meridian

question: about how much rainfall does the great plains get per year?
answers: text: 20 inches

question: what do high winds in the area sometimes cause?
answers: text: dust storms

question: what type of climate does the eastern great plains fall into?
answers: text: humid subtropical climate

question: What Canadian province lies north of the Great Plains?

question: What would be a state that lies east of the Great Plains?

question: What meridian comprises the northern edge of the Great Plains?

question: What meridian comprises the southern edge of the Great Plains?

question: How much rain does Northern Alberta get every year?
context: The 100th meridian roughly corresponds with the line that divides the Great Plains into an area that receive 20 inches (510 millimetres) or more of rainfall per year and an area that receives less than 20 in (510 mm). In this context, the High Plains, as well as Southern Alberta, south-western Saskatchewan and Eastern Montana are mainly semi hot steppe land and are generally characterised by rangeland or marginal farmland. The region (especially the High Plains) is periodically subjected to extended periods of drought; high winds in the region may then generate devastating dust storms. The eastern Great Plains near the eastern boundary falls in the humid subtropical climate zone in the southern areas, and the northern and central areas fall in the humid continental climate.

qas: question: after about what year did railroads bring hunters to the great plains?
answers: text: 1870

question: what animal did hunters kill off for their hides?
answers: text: bison

question: what farmers rushed in to settle the land with the help of the railroads?
answers: text: European farmers

question: what did the railroads offer the farmers that rushed in to settle the area?
answers: text: packages of land and transportation

question: In what year were the homestead laws passed?

question: How many towns existed in Kansas in 1950?

question: How many free farms were doled out overall?

question: How many cities existed in Kansas as of 2000?

question: How many bison were killed for their hides?
context: After 1870, the new railroads across the Plains brought hunters who killed off almost all the bison for their hides. The railroads offered attractive packages of land and transportation to European farmers, who rushed to settle the land. They (and Americans as well) also took advantage of the homestead laws to obtain free farms. Land speculators and local boosters identified many potential towns, and those reached by the railroad had a chance, while the others became ghost towns. In Kansas, for example, nearly 5000 towns were mapped out, but by 1970 only 617 were actually operating. In the mid-20th century, closeness to an interstate exchange determined whether a town would flourish or struggle for business.

qas: question: how much of the population have the rural plains lost since 1920? 
answers: text: a third

question: who declated the American frontier "closed" in 1893?
answers: text: Frederick Jackson Turner

question: how many ghost towns are in the state of Kansas?
answers: text: more than 6,000

question: how much prarie land does the "Buffalo Commons" want to return?
answers: text: 139,000 square miles

question: How many people lives per square mile on the Great Plains in 1900?

question: In what year was the Great Plains considered "open" to inhabitants and farm activity?

question: What's the school-age population of Kansas?

question: In what year was the "Buffalo Commons" proposal made?

question: How many high schools remain in Kansas?
context: The rural Plains have lost a third of their population since 1920. Several hundred thousand square miles (several hundred thousand square kilometers) of the Great Plains have fewer than 6 inhabitants per square mile (2.3 inhabitants per square kilometer)—the density standard Frederick Jackson Turner used to declare the American frontier "closed" in 1893. Many have fewer than 2 inhabitants per square mile (0.77 inhabitants per square kilometer). There are more than 6,000 ghost towns in the state of Kansas alone, according to Kansas historian Daniel Fitzgerald. This problem is often exacerbated by the consolidation of farms and the difficulty of attracting modern industry to the region. In addition, the smaller school-age population has forced the consolidation of school districts and the closure of high schools in some communities. The continuing population loss has led some to suggest that the current use of the drier parts of the Great Plains is not sustainable, and there has been a proposal - the "Buffalo Commons" - to return approximately 139,000 square miles (360,000 km2) of these drier parts to native prairie land.

qas: question: who usually organized shared meals and potluck events?
answers: text: Women

question: Who presided over church activities in the Great Plains?

question: Who did barn raisings at farm on the Great Plains?

question: Was it men or women that primarily engaged in corn huskings?

question: Between men and women, who handled most school functions?
context: Although the eastern image of farm life in the prairies emphasized the isolation of the lonely farmer and wife, plains residents created busy social lives for themselves. They often sponsored activities that combined work, food and entertainment such as barn raisings, corn huskings, quilting bees, Grange meetings, church activities and school functions. Women organized shared meals and potluck events, as well as extended visits between families. The Grange was a nationwide farmers' organization, they reserved high offices for women, and gave them a voice in public affairs.

qas: question: around when did the great plains become productive for crop growing
answers: text: 1950s

question: what is the large underground layer of water in the great plains called?
answers: text: Ogallala Aquifer

question: what type of irrigation is used in the great plains?
answers: text: Center pivot irrigation

question: When was the last ice age?

question: In what decade did center pivot irrigation get invented?

question: In what decade did aquafier depletion begin to outpace the ground's ability to recharge?

question: In what country was center pivot irrigation invented?
context: From the 1950s on, many areas of the Great Plains have become productive crop-growing areas because of extensive irrigation on large landholdings. The United States is a major exporter of agricultural products. The southern portion of the Great Plains lies over the Ogallala Aquifer, a huge underground layer of water-bearing strata dating from the last ice age. Center pivot irrigation is used extensively in drier sections of the Great Plains, resulting in aquifer depletion at a rate that is greater than the ground's ability to recharge.

qas: question: what is the great plains?
answers: text: broad expanse of flat land

question: where does the great plains lie?
answers: text: west of the Mississippi River

question: what is the region known for?
answers: text: extensive cattle ranching

question: What lies east of the Mississippi River tallgrass prairie states?

question: What lies west of the Rocky Mountains?

question: What lies north of the Great Plains?

question: What lies south of the Great Plains?

question: Name one of the states the Mississippi River flows through.
context: The Great Plains is the broad expanse of flat land (a plain), 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.

qas: question: who is the North American Environmental Atlas made by?
answers: text: Commission for Environmental Cooperation

question: what countries is the Commission for Environmental Cooperation made up of?
answers: text: Mexican, American, and Canadian governments

question: What states comprise the Temperate Prairies of the Great Plains?

question: What states are in the West-Central Semi-Arid Praries?

question: Which states are in the South-Central Semi-Arid Prairies?

question: Between the Canadian, American, and Mexican portions of the Great Plains in which area does most of it lie?
context: The North American Environmental Atlas, produced by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, a NAFTA agency composed of the geographical agencies of the Mexican, American, and Canadian governments uses the "Great Plains" as an ecoregion synonymous with predominant prairies and grasslands rather than as physiographic region defined by topography. The Great Plains ecoregion includes five sub-regions: Temperate Prairies, West-Central Semi-Arid Prairies, South-Central Semi-Arid Prairies, Texas Louisiana Coastal Plains, and Tamaulipus-Texas Semi-Arid Plain, which overlap or expand upon other Great Plains designations.

qas: question: what mainly opened the great plains for settlement?
answers: text: railroads

question: what did the railroads make it easy to do?
answers: text: ship wheat and other crops

question: who did the railroads sell cheap lands to?
answers: text: immigrants

question: who two new technologies were introducted in the 1930s?
answers: text: sewing and washing machines

question: In what decade did railroads start to appear in the Great Plains?

question: In what decade did many women work outdoors on the Great Plains?

question: In what decade were washing machines introduced?

question: In what decade did schools start offering home economics courses?

question: In what decade did the Great Plains start shipping wheat east?
context: The railroads opened up the Great Plains for settlement, for now it was possible to ship wheat and other crops at low cost to the urban markets in the East, and Europe. Homestead land was free for American settlers. Railroads sold their land at cheap rates to immigrants in expectation they would generate traffic as soon as farms were established. Immigrants poured in, especially from Germany and Scandinavia. On the plains, very few single men attempted to operate a farm or ranch by themselves; they clearly understood the need for a hard-working wife, and numerous children, to handle the many chores, including child-rearing, feeding and clothing the family, managing the housework, feeding the hired hands, and, especially after the 1930s, handling paperwork and financial details. During the early years of settlement, farm women played an integral role in assuring family survival by working outdoors. After approximately one generation, women increasingly left the fields, thus redefining their roles within the family. New technology including sewing and washing machines encouraged women to turn to domestic roles. The scientific housekeeping movement, promoted across the land by the media and government extension agents, as well as county fairs which featured achievements in home cookery and canning, advice columns for women regarding farm bookkeeping, and home economics courses in the schools.

qas: question: about how long ago did the climate become favorable?
answers: text: about 25 million years ago

question: what animals did the grasslands provide a new home for?
answers: text: mammals

question: what diet did the mammals switch to from browsing diets?
answers: text: grazing diets

question: the spread of grasslands and what have been strongly linked?
answers: text: development of grazers

question: How many years ago did the Cenozoic era start?

question: In what era did ungulates start eating a browsing diet?

question: In what era did mammals develop teeth?

question: In what era did forest biomes start to grow?

question: When did the Cenozoic era end?
context: During the Cenozoic era, specifically about 25 million years ago during the Miocene and Pliocene epochs, the continental climate became favorable to the evolution of grasslands. Existing forest biomes declined and grasslands became much more widespread. The grasslands provided a new niche for mammals, including many ungulates and glires, that switched from browsing diets to grazing diets. Traditionally, the spread of grasslands and the development of grazers have been strongly linked. However, an examination of mammalian teeth suggests that it is the open, gritty habitat and not the grass itself which is linked to diet changes in mammals, giving rise to the "grit, not grass" hypothesis.

qas: question: when did the US pass the Homestead ACt?
answers: text: 1862

question: how much land did the Homestead Act allow a person to claim?
answers: text: up to 160 acres

question: how long did the person have to live on the land?
answers: text: five years

question: when was the Kinkaid Act brought about? 
answers: text: 1904

question: the dominion act was passed in what year
answers: text: 1871

question: In what year was the Kinkaid Act repealed?

question: In what year was the Dominions Lands Act repealed?

question: In what year did the relatively wet years of the Great Plains end?

question: What number of people established homestead in Canada?

question: How many homesteaders failed to establish cultivated land?
context: To allow for agricultural development of the Great Plains and house a growing population, the US passed the Homestead Acts of 1862: it allowed a settler to claim up to 160 acres (65 ha) of land, provided that he lived on it for a period of five years and cultivated it. The provisions were expanded under the Kinkaid Act of 1904 to include a homestead of an entire section. Hundreds of thousands of people claimed such homesteads, sometimes building sod houses out of the very turf of their land. Many of them were not skilled dryland farmers and failures were frequent. Much of the Plains were settled during relatively wet years. Government experts did not understand how farmers should cultivate the prairies and gave advice counter to what would have worked[citation needed]. Germans from Russia who had previously farmed, under similar circumstances, in what is now Ukraine were marginally more successful than other homesteaders. The Dominion Lands Act of 1871 served a similar function for establishing homesteads on the prairies in Canada.