ABSTRACT
Missouri's geographic regions are based mainly on physical features—especially relief and slope—but land use, crop production, numbers of livestock, and population density are also criteria. The data—population, crop production, numbers of livestock—are calculated on the basis of the percentage of total area of a given county that lies within a given region. Four major sections of Missouri are recognized: the Ozark Upland, the Western Plains, the Northern (glaciated) Plains, and the Southeast Lowlands. The four provinces differ greatly in topography, soils, land use, systems of agriculture, standards of living, and degree of urbanization. Contrasts between the Ozarks on the one hand and each of the plains areas on the other are greater than the differences among the plains provinces, particularly between the Northern Plains and the Western Plains. The Western Plains province is a transitional area between the Ozarks and the Northern Plains.
