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High Plains

Last updated: October 14th, 2026

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Name	†	Color on Map	EPA Code‡
Pine Ridge Escarpment	∅		25a
Rolling Sand Plains	∅		25b
Moderate Relief Plains	∅		25c
Flat to Rolling Plains	∅		25d
Canadian/Cimarron High Plains	∅		25e
Pine Bluffs and Hills	∅		25f
Sandy and Silty Tablelands	∅		25g
Platte River Valley and Terraces	∅		25h
Llano Estacado	∅		25i
Shinnery Sands	∅		25j
Arid Llano Estacado	∅		25k
Front Range Fans	∅		25l

† Status: ✓ = Complete ○ = Needs Image … = Incomplete ∅ = Stub Only

‡ This code refers to the US EPA's Level 4 ecoregion codes for the continental U.S., see here.

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↑About the High Plains

The High Plains are a portion of the Great Plains extending from southeastern Wyoming, western Nebraska, and a tiny portion of South Dakota, southward through eastern Colorado and western Kansas, the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, and into West Texas and eastern New Mexico. The region consists of two discontiguous pieces, separated by a small portion of the Southwestern Tablelands that cuts across the region in the Texas panhandle and eastern New Mexico. The term "High Plains" is also in common usage and although the common usage mostly corresponds to the ecoregion discussed here, the common term often includes areas farther east in Nebraska, and sometimes excludes a portion of this region in Colorado.

Most of the region has a cold semi-arid climate (Bsk in the Koppen classification), or a dry, mid-latitude steppe climate, tending towards a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) to hot arid climate (BWh) at its southern end, and towards the dry end of a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) at its east end. Precipitation increases towards the east and also decreases slightly at the southernmost end of this region. The increase in precipitation in the east mostly comes in the form of increased summer rains; winter precipitation is relatively constant throughout. Precipitation is seasonal, although the peak times differ regionally: in the area around Denver, the peak is in May; in much of the region it is in June through August, and in the area around Clovis, NM, the peak is in September. Winters are generally much drier. Most of the region experiences snowfall in winter, although in the south the amount is insignificant. The climate is unpredictable, with long periods of warmer, drier, colder, or wetter weather possible at any time of year. This unpredictability is often more extreme in the east of the region.

The terrain varies from smooth to slightly irregular plains. Elevation tends to increase gradually towards the west. Most of the region is underlain by sandstone, siltstone, claystone, and caliche, a deposit of sediments bound together by Calcium Carbonate. These substrates are arranged in layers. Surface soils are diverse, including richer mollisols and alfisols, as well as entisols and aridisols, which are unsuitable for agriculture. The south of this region features an elevated plateau, the Llano Estacado.

Most streams here are intermittent or ephemeral. However, a few large rivers, fueled by higher precipitation in the Rocky Mountains, originate west of here and flow through this region, including the Platte, Arkansas, and Cimarron rivers. The south of this region is mostly devoid of streams, with water instead flowing into ephemeral pools called playas. The playas contribute to the Ogallala Aquifer, although the aquifer is primarily refilled by the Nebraska Sand Hills; this aquifer is currently being drained for agricultural use at unsustainable rates.

This region originally supported a mix of mixed-grass prairie and shortgrass prairie. Some areas, including the Shinnery Sands in the south, supported a mix of small shrubs and grasses. There were small woodlands along riparian corridors throughout.

Nowadays, this region is heavily utilized for a mixture of cropland and rangeland. Winter wheat and sorghum are major crops here, and the northern border of this region corresponds roughly to the northern limit of these two crops. The south of the region also produces some cotton, and corn, and has some cattle feedlots. There is also oil and gas extraction throughout. The largest city here is Denver, with Boulder and Fort Collins nearby; all three lie along the western border of this region. Other cities here include Cheyenne, WY, Hobbs, NM, Clovis, NM, and in Texas: Amarillo, Lubbock, Big Spring, and Midlands. There are numerous small towns throughout, and a fairly dense road network, although both the population density and road density are lower than areas farther east. Where this region borders the Rockies, population centers tend to concentrate along its western border, but farther south, the population is lower and concentrated more in smaller cities located centrally within the region.

To the north, this region is bordered by the Northwestern Great Plains, a region that has more irregular terrain and a greater portion of grassland cover and rangeland. The north portion of this region is bordered to the east by the Central Great Plains, which is both lower in elevation and has higher rainfall. The northernmost portion of this region is bordered to the west by the Southern Rockies, a rugged, mountainous region with higher rainfall and forest cover. The rest of the region is bordered to the west by the Southwestern Tablelands, which also cuts this region in two and partially surrounds it to the east. The southernmost end of this region has a small border with the Edwards Plateau to the southeast, and a longer border with the Chihuahuan Deserts to the southwest.

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