KDOT distance map color-coded by physiographic region showing the Smoky Hills (center)
The Smoky Hills region is part of the Plains Border subregion of the Great Plains.[1] It occupies nearly all of north-central Kansas, bordered on the west by the High Plains, on the northeast by the Dissected Till Plains, on the east by the Flint Hills, and on the south by the Arkansas River lowlands.[2] The region extends into south-central Nebraska, bordered on the north by the Rainwater Basin.[3]
It consists of three belts of hills, all running southwest to northeast, which correspond to the underlying geological formations (see geology section). The Smoky Hills proper comprise the easternmost belt; the two western belts are known as the Blue Hills. The hills of the westernmost belt are also known as the Chalk Bluffs.[4] The Blue Hills escarpment forms the boundary with the High Plains to the west.[5]
Land use in the Smoky Hills consists primarily of cropland and rangeland.[3] The region is sparsely populated with numerous communities of varying size, but no large cities. The two largest communities in the Smoky Hills region are Salina, Kansas and Hays, Kansas.
Elevations in the Smoky Hills range from about 1,200 feet (370 m) in the river valley near Salina to about 2,400 feet (730 m) at the western edge of the region.[8]
The Greenhorn Limestone region, Blue Hills[13]
or Kearney Hills,[14][15] in the central region is made up of thin—usually less than 6 inches (15 cm)—chalky limestone beds alternating with thicker beds of blue-gray chalky shale. This area is known as post rock country due to the practice of early settlers using limestone for buildings and fenceposts since trees were scarce.[9]
The Chalk Hills[15] are the beds of the Niobrara Chalk exposed in Fort Hays Limestone bluffs of the western Solomon, Saline, Smoky Hill, and Republican Rivers, and in an irregular belt of Smoky Hill Chalk bluffs further west. This area includes such Kansas landmarks as Castle Rock and Monument Rocks in Gove County. The chalk beds are known for the late 19th and early 20th century excavations of exceptionally well-preserved fossils of marine reptiles such as the plesiosaurs and mosasaurs found in the uppermost member of the Niobrara Chalk, the Smoky Hill Chalk.[9]
The aquatic and wooded habitats available near reservoirs and streams showcase a different array of animals. Open water attracts eagles, ospreys, grebes, and sandhill cranes. Woodlands provide hiding places for warblers, beavers, and muskrats.[16]
^Adams, George I. (1902). "Physiographic Divisions of Kansas". Bulletin of the American Geographical Society. 34 (2). American Geographical Society: 89–104. doi:10.2307/197565. JSTOR197565.
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