Great Plains

American  

noun

1. a semiarid region E of the Rocky Mountains, in the U.S. and Canada.

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Great Plains British  

plural noun

1. a vast region of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, extending from the lowlands of the Mackenzie River (Canada), south to the Big Bend of the Rio Grande

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Great Plains Cultural  

1. Grassland prairie region of North America, extending from Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, in Canada, south through the west-central United States into Texas.

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In the 1930s, areas of the Great Plains were known collectively as the Dust Bowl. Poor agricultural practices led to depletion of topsoil, which was blown away in huge dust storms. The area was called the Great American Desert well into the nineteenth century.

Now characterized by huge ranches and farms, the Great Plains were long inhabited by Native Americans.

Example Sentences

“It extends from Southern California all the way to the Great Plains and from Canada to Mexico,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

The severe winter weather will bring widespread travel disruptions, including heavy snow in the Northeast, and frigid temperatures and gusty winds in the southern Great Plains and elsewhere, the National Weather Service said.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 23, 2026

Winter Storm Fern is forecast to engulf an area well over half the length of the continental United States, stretching from Texas and the Great Plains region to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

Great Plains states saw some of the highest rates of outbound moves, though the leader in outbound moves was Louisiana.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

That’s because much of the intervening area of Texas and the southern Great Plains was dry and unsuitable for agriculture.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond