Vocabulary
More Vocabulary
Gifts from the Sea
Our Land
Improved Farming
100
slowly moving ice
What is a glacier?
100
large, open grasslands
What is a prairie?
100
a rock that is underneath most of our state. It is made of sand and shells, and holds our water supply.
What is sandstone?
100
400 years
What is the time it takes to make 1 inch of Iowa soil?
100
planting a field of beans one year, and corn the next
What is crop rotation?
200
a scientist who studies the history of the earth
What is a geologist?
200
low area that is filled with water and a habitat for animals
What is a wetland?
200
this rock provides us with lots of cliffs and caves in eastern Iowa.
What is limestone?
200
what gave the prairie victory in its war with the forests here in Iowa.
What is fire?
200
an area of trees and shrubs planted to block the effects of the wind.
What is windbreaks/shelter belts?
300
a long period of hot, dry weather
What is a drought?
300
a period in US history in which the plains suffered drought and lost much of their topsoil.
What is the Dust Bowl?
300
This mineral was mined in our state for many years, and was used for heat and power in locomotives.
What is coal?
300
coniferous forests
What is was the first vegetation after the glacial period?
300
planting new seeds into rough soil with lots of decaying stalks in the field.
What is no-till farming?
400
remains of plants and animals embedded into the earth's crust.
What is a fossil?
400
a method of moving water to farmers crops
What is irrigation?
400
This rock is used to make wallboard, cement, and plaster. It was actually made of the remaining salt of the shallow sea.
What is gypsum?
400
the number of glaciers that passed over Iowa
What is four?
400
an grass strip in a low area of a field near a stream that doesn't allow topsoil to wash away.
What is a waterway?
500
piles of powdery, glacial dust that blew into hills.
What are the Loess Hills?
500
the tallest of prairie grass that grew in Iowa, often 8-9 feet high
What is Big Bluestem?
500
the place of origin of the Cardiff Giant
What is Fort Dodge?
500
half our topsoil, or 8"
What amount of our topsoil have we lost?
500
farming in such a way that doesn't allow soil to wash down the hillside.
What is terracing?
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