What is the difference between plains and prairies?

Answer 1

Lands typically referred to as "prairie" tend to be in North America. The term encompasses much of the area referred to as the Great Plains of the United States and Canada. In the U.S., the area is constituted by most or all of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, and sizeable parts of the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Canadian Prairies occupy vast areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. French explorers called these areas prairie, from the French word for "meadow". Geobotanically, the North American prairies constitute a floristic province of the North American Atlantic Region. Sometimes, in the United States and Canada, a distinction is made between the shortgrass vegetation of the High Plains west of the 100th meridian and the midgrass and tallgrass vegetation to the east (from central Texas to southern Manitoba). When this distinction is made, it is common to limit the word "prairie" to the midgrass and tallgrass area. Almost all of this area has been converted into farmland in the last two hundred years (the shortgrass area can be considered to be a steppe).

The term may also apply to the Coastal prairie in California and Oregon.

Answer 2

Without looking it up here is what I think. Plains are Miles of level land without trees. Prairies are rolling hills of grasses and other natural wild flowers...like on Little House the girls come running over the prairie. Well that's my take on it.

Answer 3

Two different things. Plains refers to terrain. Prairies refers to the vegetation.
Plains are relatively flat and dry. Prairies are covered with uncultivated flowers and grasses.

Answer 4

I believe the chief difference is prairies do not have to be flat, and as a rule recieve more rainfall.

Plains may also have trees. Prairies do not.

Answer 5

A plan is a small area of rural land and a prairie is a large piece of rural land. When i say large i mean as big as a province. For example Saskatchewan is a prairie.

P.S the person above me doesn't know what they are talking about.

Answer 6

plains r flat and dry, not much rain. Praries, however, have rolling plains and get slightly more rain.
As well, plains are all over the world's regions, but praries are only in America, usually in the south part.

Answer 7

prairies have animals like prairie dogs, plains have animals like snakes etc

Answer 8

Prairies have vegetation. Planes might or might not have vegetation. (half guess work)

Answer 9

i think they are about the same. plains mean flat and prerie means ...grassland. ever seen prarie grass? it's huge!!!!

Answer 10

plains rhymes with planes and praries rhymes with...gary!
I'm so cruel...