The Great American Desert came up in conversation recently. You may recall from your American History classes that that back in the 1800’s explorer Stephen H. Long, coined the phrase to describe the Great Plains.
The Great American Desert was bound on the west by the Rocky Mountains. The eastern border was more variable. Some people placed the eastern boundary at the Missouri River, but more commonly the eastern boundary was set at the 100th meridian. Dunseith, Rugby, Steele, and Hague lie close to the 100th meridian here in North Dakota.
The term desert had a different connotation back then. It was not so much a vegetation type, but a largely treeless area unsuitable for cultivation and thus settlement. Flash ahead to the 1980’s and we hear about a proposal to turn the area into a Buffalo Commons. Remember that dust-up?
Some of that perception of this area is related to precipitation. Moisture laden air coming in off the Pacific Ocean gives up most of the moisture in precipitation over the mountains. As a result, precipitation is comparatively low just to the east of the Rockies, but increases eastward. Miles City, Montana, for example averages about 12 inches of precipitation per year while Fargo averages 22 inches. The conventional wisdom for much of the 1800’s was that annual precipitation of 20 inches was the bare minimum required for growing crops. That roughly coincided with the 100th meridian. So for much of the nineteenth century the 100 meridian marked the western boundary of suitable farmland and the eastern boundary of the Great Plains and of course the Great American Desert.
Many people will cringe at the 100th meridian being the western boundary of suitable cropland. Looking around the state we are seeing more and more cropland in the Great American Desert. And of course, that is at the expense of native prairie, which is going, going…I will save that for a later spot.
But consider this. North Dakota is a little different, but in South Dakota where the Missouri River roughly bisects the state from north to south (and a bit west of the 100th meridian), life is quite different for people living east or west of the river. South Dakotans often refer to themselves as being from either “East River” or “West River.” East of the Missouri River, expect to see a preponderance of feed caps and perhaps tennis shoes. West River it is all cowboy hats and cowboy boots. It is largely farming in eastern South Dakota. Western South Dakota is ranching country.
Chuck Lura
Natural North Dakota is supported by NDSU Central Grasslands Research Extension Center and Dakota College at Bottineau, and by the members of Prairie Public. Thanks to Sunny 101.9 in Bottineau for their recording services.
