The Great Plains region of the United States stretches across the center of the country from the Rocky Mountains in the west to around the Mississippi River in the east. It encompasses parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. This expansive grassland region is known for its flat terrain, fertile soil, and agricultural production. Let’s explore this iconic American landscape through 93 riddles and their answers!
Riddles about the Geography of the Great Plains
Riddles about the Location & Size of the Great Plains
Q: I’m in the middle of the map, between east and west. Flat as can be, few trees here to rest. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I span from Canada to Mexico, covering parts of 10 different states. I’m not a small space, in fact I’m quite great. What am I?
A: The Great Plains region
Q: I stretch over 530,000 square miles, from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. Farms and ranches dot my flat terrain. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I extend from the Rio Grande to the boreal forests, covering portions of 10 U.S. states and 3 Canadian provinces. I am one of the largest regions in North America. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I’m a grassy, mostly treeless region that lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains. I cover parts of 10 U.S. states between Mexico and Canada. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Riddles about the Terrain of the Great Plains
Q: I’m so flat, you can watch your dog run away for days. Rolling hills? You won’t find them in this place. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I’m a flat, expansive region where you can see for miles. My grassy terrain has been described as a sea of green. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I’m about as flat as a pancake, some call me America’s “flyover country”. I’m dotted with farms but have few trees to block your view. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I’m a flat, treeless region where the horizon stretches on forever. My nickname is “amber waves of grain” from my seas of golden tallgrass. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: My terrain is flatter than flat, with grasses that wave in the wind. Settlers crossing me felt like sailors on the open seas. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Riddles about Great Plains Geography Facts
Q: At my highest point, mountains ascend just over 14,000 feet. But go east and you’ll walk for miles without going up or down. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: My eastern border is marked by America’s longest river. My western edge meets mountains that tower overhead. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I’m bookended by two ranges – one “rocky” and one “black”. In between lies mile upon mile of flat, open space as far as the eye can see. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: My boundaries are defined by the Mississippi River in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west. I span America’s heartland from north to south. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: I begin where the tallgrass prairie meets the shortgrass, and end where the steppe meets the mountains. I extend from the Rio Grande to Canada in between. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Riddles about Great Plains Plants & Animals
Riddles about Signature Plants of the Great Plains
Q: I’m tall, hardy grass that sways in amber waves across the plains. My deep roots hold the soil of America’s breadbasket. What am I?
A: Tallgrass
Q: We’re short, hardy grasses that blanket the western plains. Cattle roam and graze over our golden sheaths. What are we?
A: Shortgrass prairie grasses
Q: I’m a purple wildflower that blooms all summer long on the prairie. My long stems and petals give a colorful prairie landscape. What am I?
A: Purple coneflower
Q: I’m a tough scrubby plant with grayish leaves loved by plains settlers for my healing properties. They drank me as a tea to cure what ailed them. What am I?
A: Sagebrush
Q: I’m a tall wildflower with sunflower-like blooms, but my petals are white. I can grow over 8 feet tall on the plains! What am I?
A: White prairie coneflower
Riddles about Iconic Great Plains Animals
Q: I’m a majestic horse that once roamed wild and free across the Great Plains. Settlers drove my herds nearly to extinction in the 1800s. What am I?
A: Mustang
Q: We’re shaggy bovines with long horns raised by ranchers on the plains. Our stampedes thundered across the prairie. What are we?
A: Longhorn cattle
Q: I’m a swift, spotted cat who hunts pronghorns and prairie dogs out on the plains. My range once reached from Canada to Mexico. What am I?
A: Cheetah
Q: I’m a small, furry prairie rodent who lives in large colonies called towns. I stand on my hind legs to get a better view watching for predators. What am I?
A: Prairie dog
Q: I’m one of the fastest land mammals in North America. I roam the plains in herds, racing away from predators at 60 mph! What am I?
A: Pronghorn antelope
Riddles about Great Plains Wildlife Facts
Q: I was hunted almost to extinction in the 19th century for my tongues and fur. Now I’m the official state mammal of Wyoming. What am I?
A: American bison or buffalo
Q: Millions of us once darkened the skies over the plains. Market hunting decimated our flocks, but now we migrate through protected refuges. What are we?
A: Passenger pigeons
Q: We number over 5 million and dig complex tunnels and burrows across the Great Plains. Our predators include hawks, coyotes, badgers and snakes. What are we?
A: Black-tailed prairie dogs
Q: I’m the largest living land animal in North America. Up to 30 million of us once roamed the plains in mighty herds. What am I?
A: American bison or buffalo
Q: I’m the state bird of 7 Great Plains states. My flashy feathers and curved tail make me a standout on open prairie. What am I?
A: Pheasant
Riddles about Great Plains Landmarks & Manmade Features
Riddles about Famous Great Plains Landmarks
Q: I’m carved into a South Dakota mountain and feature the faces of 4 U.S. Presidents. Rushmore doesn’t describe me but it’s part of my name. What am I?
A: Mount Rushmore
Q: Millions visit me each year to walk my wooden boardwalks. Steam bursts from my colorful thermal pools including Old Faithful. What am I?
A: Yellowstone National Park
Q: I’m a 16 acre park in Oklahoma City memorializing those lost in a tragic 1995 bombing. Out of tragedy arose this place of hope and reflection. What am I?
A: Oklahoma City National Memorial
Q: I’m a Nebraska city known as the starting point for westward settlers traveling the Oregon, California and Mormon trails. What am I?
A: Omaha
Q: I’m a tall granite tower that marks the border between Kansas and Nebraska. Salt Creek flows by my base. What am I?
A: Coronado Heights
Riddles about Manmade Great Plains Features
Q: I’m a huge Texas ranch that’s bigger than the state of Rhode Island. Oil was struck here in 1923, creating a legendary American family’s wealth. What am I?
A: The King Ranch
Q: We’re a series of forts established from Minnesota to Texas to protect settlers moving west in the 1800s. Famous names like Union, Dodge and Laramie are part of our line. What are we?
A: Frontier forts
Q: I’m a government project that employed 250,000 men to build hundreds of projects during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. What am I?
A: Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Q: I’m a route stretching 2,200 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles along the old U.S. Route 66. You’ll find me in the lyrics of a famous song. What am I?
A: Get Your Kicks on Route 66
Q: I’m a pipeline starting in the oil fields of Oklahoma and running to Midwest and Northeast refineries. I was completed in the 1940s to fuel the Allied effort in WWII. What am I?
A: The Big Inch pipeline
Riddles about Great Plains Agriculture
Q: I’m a circular pen that cowboys use to catch cattle during branding. Cowboys on horseback herd cattle inside me. What am I?
A: A roundup corral
Q: I’m a metal contraption with sharp teeth that tore up the prairie to prepare soil for farming. Immigrants pulled me across the plains with great effort. What am I?
A: A steel plow
Q: We’re fence-like wires with sharp barbs stretched between posts to divide grazing lands on the open plains. What are we?
A: Barbed wire
Q: I’m a tall wood structure used to pump water for crops and livestock on the prairie. Windmill blades turn my mechanisms to pull up groundwater. What am I?
A: A windmill
Q: I’m a covered wagon pioneers rode in across the plains. My waterproof canvas hood provided shelter and storage space. What am I?
A: A Prairie schooner
Riddles about Great Plains History & Settlement
Riddles about Native American History in the Great Plains
Q: My people hunted bison and lived in teepee villages on the Great Plains. Our warriors rode horseback and made vivid pictographs to tell our stories. Who are we?
A: The Plains Indians
Q: My homeland stretches from Texas up through Montana and the Dakotas. I’m made up of tribes like the Comanche, Sioux, and Cheyenne. What am I?
A: The Great Plains
Q: My people hunted the bison and considered them sacred. We used every part of the animal for food, tools and shelter. What tribe am I?
A: Plains Indians like the Lakota Sioux
Q: My people tamed wild horses on the plains and became known for our superb horsemanship skills. What famous tribe am I?
A: The Comanche
Q: I’m a tragic clash between the U.S. Cavalry and Sioux that happened in Montana in 1876. What famous battle am I?
A: The Battle of Little Bighorn
Riddles about Great Plains Settlement & Westward Expansion
Q: I’m a 19th century act that allowed settlers to claim up to 160 acres of public land for just a small filing fee. What am I?
A: The Homestead Act
Q: I’m a route that carried settlers westward from Missouri across the Great Plains in covered wagons. What’s my name?
A: The Oregon Trail
Q: I’m a triangular trade route where ranchers drove cattle north to railroad lines. The railroads shipped the cattle east to hungry cities. What famous route am I?
A: The Chisholm Trail
Q: I was a period of huge dust storms on the over-plowed and over-grazed Great Plains during the 1930s. What was I?
A: The Dust Bowl
Q: I’m a time when settlers raced to stake their claims across former Native lands in Oklahoma in 1889. What famous “run” am I?
A: The Oklahoma Land Rush
Riddles about Famous Great Plains Explorers
Q: I explored the Louisiana Territory and the Great Plains for 8 years before returning to St. Louis in 1806. What expedition did I lead?
A: Lewis and Clark Expedition
Q: I’m a Spanish conquistador who explored the Great Plains in the 16th century, but never did find gold. What’s my name?
A: Francisco Coronado
Q: I’m the famous American frontiersman known as “the buckskin man” for my fringed leather clothes. I made my name on the early Great Plains. Who am I?
A: Kit Carson
Q: I explored the southern Great Plains and inspired later trails like the Santa Fe. My journey opened up commerce between the U.S. and Mexico. What expedition did I lead?
A: The Pike expedition
Q: We were early French fur trappers and traders who traveled the rivers of the Northern Plains in the 18th-19th centuries. What historic group do we represent?
A: The mountain men
Riddles about Great Plains Culture & Entertainment
Riddles about Great Plains Cultural Icons
Q: My nickname is “Buffalo Bill” and my Wild West Show brought tales of the plains to eastern crowds in the late 1800s. Who am I?
A: William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody
Q: I’m a Pulitzer Prize winning novel about settlers struggling to farm on the harsh Great Plains. A girl named Alexandra is my pioneering heroine. What novel am I?
A: O Pioneers!
Q: I’m a novel about a pioneer family’s journey west along the Oregon Trail. I chronicle their many challenges crossing the Great Plains. What famous book am I?
A: The Grapes of Wrath
Q: I’m an iconic American photograph of workers eating lunch atop steel beams during construction of Rockefeller Center. What am I?
A: Lunch atop a Skyscraper
Q: I’m a folk song about the hard life of a cowboy whose home is the ranch and the open prairie. “Whoopee ti yi yo…” are some of my lyrics. What song am I?
A: The Streets of Laredo (The Cowboy’s Lament)
Riddles about Great Plains Sports & Entertainment
Q: I’m a sport that originated as a cowboy contest of skills like riding, roping, and racing. Today’s pros compete in events like bull riding. What am I?
A: Professional rodeo
Q: We’re college sports teams from Great Plains states that often compete in the Big 12 conference. Names like Cowboys, Cornhuskers and Sooners represent us. Who are we?
A: College teams from the Great Plains region
Q: I’m an HBO drama series about a family-owned rodeo and ranch in Wyoming. The Duttons struggle to hang onto their way of life. What am I?
A: Yellowstone
Q: I’m an arcade game that simulates steering a covered wagon left and right to avoid obstacles. I was made by Atari in 1977. What game am I?
A: Custer’s Revenge
Q: I’m a 1919 silent film starring Charlie Chaplin set in the Yukon during the Gold Rush era. It showcases the lawlessness of boomtowns like those in the Old West. What film am I?
A: The Gold Rush
Conclusion
From its sweeping grasslands and roaming bison, to pioneer settlers and the cowboy life, the Great Plains region is an iconic part of American history and culture. This collection of riddles offers a fun twist on exploring facts about the geography, plants, animals, landmarks, and legacy of the Great Plains. Looking for trivia with a clever spin? Riddles engage the mind in creative ways to teach and test knowledge about this expansive prairie region stretching across the heartland.
