Kansas Really Is Flat as a Pancake

[peterh]

Not really breaking and not really news worthy, but for those that have “actually” wondered…..well….it’s true.


<http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=5&u=/nm/20030722/od_nm/odd_kansas_dc>

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kansas really is flatter than a pancake, U.S. geographers reported on Monday.

A scientific comparison of the topography of Kansas to a pancake shows the state, known for its vast, even fields, is in fact really, really flat, geographer Mark Fonstad of Southwest Texas State University and colleagues found.

"Simply put, our results show that Kansas is considerably flatter than a pancake."

[LiberalTexan]

1. Poor Souls

They obviously missed out on a trip to the Eastern half of the state......

[damnraddem]

13. The analysis used a strip of a geological study, across the state.

Had they used a differently-located strip, they might have gotten a flatness index of .994 instead of .997. ;-)

And who knows about that IHOP pancake?

[okieinpain]

2. no joke, drove to nebraska from oklahoma over the weekend

nothing but plains as far as the eye can see.

[BOSSHOG]

3. Absoutely right my friend

My wonderful inlaws live in northern Kansas and they say they live in a "Valley." The first time I visited them several years ago I looked as hard as I could and found nothing resembling a "valley." It is a beautiful yet barren piece of real estate.

[damnraddem]

14. IN much of the state ...

'valleys' are river flood plains, 'hills' are edges of flood plains.

On the other hand, eastern New Mexico is flatter -- less rain so fewer and shallower flood plains, I guess.

[GainesT1958]

4. Now we know why Roy Williams came back home...

All that topographical flatness was too boring for him...he missed the mountains (where he was from) and the beach (where he liked to vacation). Wheat fields are beautiful, but they're just not the same! :eyes:

B-)

[rock]

5. But bigger

In fact, Kansas is several times bigger than your run-of-the-mill pancake.

[damnraddem]

15. Now don't waffle about this!

It gives me the crepes.

[reprobate]

20. Look out! The PUN POLICE are always listening.

[donco6]

6. I grew up there.

The eastern 1/3 is not flat at all. I grew up in the Flint Hills near Manhattan. I still find it to be a beautiful, lush place (compared to Colorado, where I live now.)

You get past Salina (as our OK to NE driving friend experienced), and yes, it's very flat.

But - I've driven across the middle of Illinois, and it didn't look that much flatter to me.

Besides, FLAT IS BEAUTIFUL!

:)

[aquart]

7. The sky is completely out of control in Kansas.

Really. Here in New York we know what to do with sky: blot it out with tall green trees or really tall buildings. New York has properly managed sky.

The sky in Kansas is always about to crush you like an alien spaceship. It's too large, too dangerous, and there's no place to hide from it.

I'm surprised the people haven't all gone insane.

[TlalocW]

9. An ex-girlfriend

That I was dating in Oklahoma (she was from Virginia originally) started having mild agoraphobia fears when I took her home to meet mom in Kansas (she was getting her PhD in psychology at the time). Agoraphobia is the fear of wide open spaces I think. Anyway, she was mildly agitated at all the wide open spaces. I'll just say that.

TlalocW

[TlalocW]

8. I'm originally from around Wichita

It is indeed flat. I remember family trips to Grand Lake in Oklahoma (70 miles north-northeastern-ish from Tulsa), and from a child's perspective, the Oklahoma "hills" that our suburban climbed were steeper than a roller coaster's. Even now that I live in Tulsa, I think the country side is pretty hilly.

But the nice thing is that I'm no longer hit by birds falling out of the sky from exhaustion after trying in vain to find a tree.

TlalocW

[CO Liberal]

10. ...and So Is Ann Coulter

:-)

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

11. Be nice to my home state!

I was born and raised in Kansas, not moving from there until the grand old age of 37 and then only because my husband's job took us to Pennsylvania. It is very flat there, which is kind of nice if you have a trick stomach sometimes while riding in cars. I was extremely carsick the first few weeks we lived in PA because my stomach couldn't handle the hills!

Kansas isn't entirely flat. Northeast of Wichita you get into the Flint Hills, which are very small hills, but picturesque nonetheless. I love being able to see nothing but rolling fields as far as the eye can see. The worst thing about it's being so flat is the WIND. You can never have a good hair day in Kansas without several cans of reliable hairspray!

Ahhh, the memories....

[ZenLefty]

12. I have a relief map of the state of Kansas

No vertical exaggeration. Very much to scale. ;-)

[SoCalDem]

16. Just be careful not to step into the syrupy parts

as a Salina Kansas native I can attest to its "flattitude".. The very eastern part is quite hilly, but most of the state is just one big horizon, no matter which way you look..

[FDRLincoln]

17. NE Kansas is not flat

I live in Lawrence, and there are plenty of hills, some pretty steep, around here. Lots of trees, lakes, lush vegetation.

Previous poster is right, once you get to Salina (about 150 miles west of here), it gets very flat. Basically the eastern half of the state is like the rest of the Midwest, with hills, trees, farmland, water. But the western half is very, very flat, yes.

[MODemocrat]

19. Lawrence and surrounding area is quite pretty

My husband's from that area and we lived there when we were first married. It has so many pretty trees and hills. When we went to Colorado through western Kansas, it did seem like a never ending desert.

[LawDem]

18. Here in Wichita

Okay, I'm sitting in Wichita as we "speak." I just looked out the widow and, by gosh, they're right -- it is flat out there. You'd have thought I'd have noticed before now.

[chromotone]

21. And western Kansas is just like ANWR!!!

This email was sent to my wife from Sen. Roberts (R-KS):

May 15, 2003

Dear Friend:

Thanks for your suggestions and counsel on appropriate energy policies.

Your guidance is very helpful.

Our energy sector is changing. Kansas and other states no longer produce and refine a majority of crude oil consumed in the United States. New electricity power plants use natural gas instead of coal. Renewable energy resources are close to becoming competitive suppliers in energy markets.

It has been 10 years since Congress set a national energy policy and with changes in the various energy sectors, the Senate will be considering S.14, the Energy Policy Act. This comprehensive bill increases fossil fuel and renewable energy production, expands conservation and efficiency programs, while hopefully leading to stable energy prices.

Many Kansans continue to contact me about a variety of energy issues. Because of the Senate's schedule, it is not known at this time if debate on your particular issue or amendment will take place. My position remains to support research on renewable energy realizing Kansas' leadership role in ethanol production and wind energy. At the same time, we have to continue to produce oil and coal so we can drive to work, heat our homes, and keep our computers running.

I do support exploration for oil and natural gas on appropriate federal lands. We are using more natural gas for heat and electricity. Without new natural gas wells, prices will continue to rise and supply will become unreliable. I also support exploration on 2,000 acres of Alaska's coastal plain in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, which resembles western Kansas and is dark half the year. The proposed drilling site is about the size of Kansas City International or Wichita Mid-Continent airports on a refuge that is 19 million acres. I realize some Kansans may not be happy with this position, but I wanted to share my views with you on this important issue.

I hope you will continue to share with me your views on Senate legislation.

With every best wish,

Sincerely,
Pat Roberts

So not only is it flat, it has picturesque mountain ranges and is dark half the year! :crazy: