! Climate! The climate in the Midwest is very unpredictable and can be very severe at times. There is no

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1 The Midwest Region Do you know where the Midwest is? The Midwest region is near the states like Nevada, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and where I live Michigan and seven more. Michigan's Great Lakes are one of the borders mor the Midwest on the northern side. There is so much fresh water in are lakes. Are state has the most fresh water in the world And I think I'm pretty lucky to be living right in the middle of it Are Great Lakes have one forth of all the fresh water, that's over 6 quadrillion gallons And if you don't know how much water that is its a lot It enough to flood the whole United States in water There is something in the Midwest called the Central Plains. This area is flat which is very good for farming, but there is very few trees. That tells me that this region is not like the regions in the east. Another fact about the Central Plains is all of the grasses there. And it's good that the grasses are there because those grasses help make the the soil extremely fertile.

2 There are also Great Plains, these plains are to the west of the Central Plains. And the Central Plains soil is not as fertile. There is less rainfall there and the land is higher, drier and rockier. Part of the Great Plains is a state called South Dakota. And in South Dakota there is a place called the Black Hills. The Black Hills have very high peaks made of granite. Somewhere in the Great Plains there are places called Badlands, these lands are used for lots of human purposes. This land is also very very dry. When it rains in this place, it creates canyons. These canyons are made of clay and other bits of soft rock. Oh and if you have ever wonder how the canyons were made, well then if you have I will tell you right now. The canyons are made when it rains and the clay and rock erode. And that's how they get their rock layers and those very strange ways some of the canyons get there shape. Most paleontologists find lots of fossils in these areas. The Great Lakes touch the Midwest region, and the water in the Midwest is very important. Believe it or not, four out of the Great Lakes five lakes touch the Midwest. There are rivers and canals that connect the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Of Mexico. Very big ships can travel to city's along the Atlantic Ocean. There were faster ways to travel back then

3 and it that faster way to travel was by water ways. City's in the Midwest formed near these water ways because traveling on the water ways was a much less expensive. Although it looks like it the Great Lakes are not at all the same water level.they use locks to move ships from one land to the other. Water ways are closed off to by Locks, Locks are the part of the water ways that are closed off by gates. Lake Huron is so shallow there have to lift ships 21 feet to get them into Lake Superior. This process is called the sue locks. There are so many ships that pass through the sue locks every year, every year more then 12,000 big boats. The sue locks is a very busy place. The longest water way in the United States is the Mississippi River. It's one of the country's most important water ways also. In the Mississippi River, their river banks are very high. These high river banks stop the river from overflowing. This river is a very busy river because of all of the boats and barges. It is the most important waterway in are country. It begins in the Midwest an travels all the way through the Gulf Of Mexico. There are many smaller rivers that flow into the Mississippi River. Climate The climate in the Midwest is very unpredictable and can be very severe at times. There is no

4 ocean nearby, therefore the land cannot be warmed by the ocean. This creates cool summers and extremely cold winters. These harsh winters can bring heavy snow and freezing winds that can last from October to April. Part of the Midwest region is in Tornado Ally. This area bring many destructive tornadoes a year. People that live on this area must prepare for such dangers. Their houses are built differently, they have storm cellars, and neighborhood tornado sirens to warn people. Products And Natural Resources The most important resource in the Midwest is its rich soil. Places in the central plains have the best the best soil on earth. That is why this region is covered with farmland. There are three manger areas or belts in this region. The corn belt, the wheat belt, and the dairy belt. Corn is a valuable resource because it is used for many things like glue, soap, paint, and it is even found in ice cream. The Midwest is responsible for the most wheat in the United States. The wheat belt is in the Great Plains. Wheat is used for pasta, cakes, cereal, and bread. That why this region is called the bread basket of America.

5 It is also known as the dairy belt. It is easy to grow hay in this region which make it easy to raise cattle. The Midwest produces most of the milk, butter, and cheese for this region. Another resource for the Midwest is iron ore. They have the largest deposits. The iron is turned into steel and used for the car industry in Detroit Michigan. Detroit is named Motor City because it produces the most cars. By: Audrey Richards Chicago, the capital of Illinois is the biggest city in the Midwest. In the biggest city Chicago, Illinois there is a building called Sear's Tower. It is one of the country's biggest buildings. Because Chicago is located near waterways, it is an important center for business, making different kinds of things. It is also good for transportation. The capital of Illinois has always been a center for moving cargo and citizens. Railroad tracks were spread out from

6 Chicago across the Midwest region. In the present day in Chicago there are many ways for transportation and sending cargo. These are some of the ways. There is railroads that we use trains to go on and highways to drive on. There are airports, rivers, and also lakes. In Illinois, Chicago the O'Hara International Airport is one of the most working Airports in the U.S. A bunch of people pass though. That is about 200,000 people each day When you add all of that up it equals 73 million people that ride the airplane a year There are many workers. They employ 50,000 workers Wow The mall in Minnesota is the Mall of America. It is the biggest and largest mall in the U.S. This mall has over 520 stores. It would take you four days and three nights to travel to all of the stores in ten minutes This incredible has 50 restaurants. It also has 14 movie theaters and a amusement park Saint Louis, Missouri is nickname is "Gateway to the West." The pioneers started their own adventure by going west from Saint Louis. There is an arch in Saint Louis and it is called the Gateway Arch. It was assembled to tribute

7 the pioneers. Manufactured of beaming stainless steel. This Arch is 630 feet above the Mississippi River. People that visit can ride a train to the tippy top. Two big monuments are crafted into Pitch Black Hills in South Dakota. The first monument is very famous it is Mount Rushmore. This monument shows the four faces of the American presidents. Those presidents are George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Each head is equally six stories tall but not altogether. Another monument is honoring an Indian chief named Crazy Horse. This monument is still being carved. When this project is done it will be the largest statue it the world Culture In the Midwest, outdoor sports are popular. People take joy into riding horses, fishing, and hunting in the warm weather. In the winter people go skiing, skating on the ice,snowmobiling, and also ice fishing. Ice fishing is when you fish on solid ice on a frozen lake. When people go ice fishing you have to drill a hole through the ice to fish in the open water. Since the wether conditions are so cold, a lot of people that go ice fishing use a small shelter called an

8 ice shanty. Sometimes the shanties can be left on the ice for most of the winter People stay together in a "shanty town." In the Midwest the food is usually simple, with not a lot of of spices, and the food is filling. The reason is because the Midwest grows most of America's grain, beef, and dairy products. The Midwest is known as the breadbasket because of all of the production of grain. Some of the famous foods in the midwest are Chicago Style Pizza, hamburgers and Coney Dogs. McDonalds opened up its first restaurant in Illinois in Wendy's, Dairy Queen and White Castle are also fast food places that found their start in the midwest region Music is a big part of the midwest regions culture. Billy Haley and the Comets introduced Rock n Roll to the country with their big hit Rock Around the Clock. They began in Cleveland, Ohio in the early 1950 s. Rock N Roll hasn't slowed down since. It has continued to be popular around the world. The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland Ohio. Motown was also develped in the midwest. Detroit Michigan to be exact. This began in the early 1960 s. This type of music is the reason for the first African American owned record company which quickly became the mist successful record company in the United States. Some of

9 the artists that recorded music with them were The Supremes, The Miracles, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder.