Eastern Plains

There are also several deciduous forests, canyons, buttes, and a few large natural lakes and rivers throughout the region.

Summers are typically hot and dry, often bringing thunderstorms, which are often severe, to the area, with some occasionally forming landspouts and tornadoes.

The Plains Indians that lived in the region included the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Pawnee, and Sioux.

[4] The Ute people formally ruled all over central and western Colorado, and onto the eastern plains as well.

[5] In 1541, the Spanish came to the area now known as the south eastern portion of Colorado, in search of gold after hearing rumors in Mexico city.

In 1803 the United States gained possession of much of the land east of Rocky Mountains with the Louisiana Purchase.

[6] The Eastern Colorado plains are among the most sparsely populated areas in the continental United States.

They are composed of marginal farmlands that were withdrawn from agriculture and consolidated under federal control beginning in the Dust Bowl.

Eastern Colorado is one of the few remaining places in the United States that was still operating one-room school houses in 2010.

Corn growing in Larimer County
High Plains in Eastern Colorado
Eastern Plains shown on the map of Colorado
Many of the original settlers of Eastern Colorado built sod houses where lumber was scarce.
The Pawnee Buttes , located in the Pawnee National Grassland on the high plains in Northeastern Colorado
Picture Canyon , located in the Comanche National Grassland , is typical of the scattered canyons found on the high plains in Eastern Colorado, Eastern New Mexico, West Texas, and the Oklahoma panhandle.