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Flint Hills
Last updated: October 22nd, 2026
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| Name | † | Color on Map | EPA Code‡ |
| Flint Hills | ∅ | 28a |
† 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 Flint Hills
The Flint Hills are a north-south-oriented region mostly located in eastern Kansas, and extending slightly into Oklahoma. The region is named for the unusual abundance of flint near the surface here. This region marks the westernmost region where tallgrass prairie was dominant, and has the highest density of remaining tallgrass prairie anywhere in North America, owing to the rocky soils being unsuitable for cropland.The north of this region has a humid continental climate, and the south tends towards the cold end of a humid subtropical climate. Precipitation is seasonal. The north of the region has a wet season peaking in May to June, and falling off slightly in summer, followed by a relatively dry winter. In the south, a second wet season appears in September, leading to a weak bimodal precipitation; summers are only slightly drier. Weather can vary considerably from day to day and year to year, with prolonged wet, dry, hot, or cold spells possible at any time of year. This region is near the heart of tornado alley and has some of the most frequent and severe tornadoes anywhere in North America, with the frequency highest in late spring to early summer.
Most of the region is covered by rolling hills and cuestas (asymmetrical hills steeper on one side) with steep, narrow valleys along streams, and some areas of broader floodplains along larger streams and rivers. The region is mostly underlain by shale and cherty limestone, which lead to rocky surface soils that, although relatively fertile for plant growth, resist tilling and digging.
The original vegetation cover, which still remains in large portions of this region, was tallgrass prairie. Dominant species include big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), yellow indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).
Nowadays, most of the region is used for grazing of beef cattle. The three largest cities here, in declining order of population, are Manhattan, Emporia, and El Dorado, all in Kansas.
