The Flint Hills
Final Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie
Emerald Hills
Splendor of the
Cutting across central Kansas, the Flint Hills is home to the vast majority of the last remnants of an endangered ecosystem, the tallgrass prairie. Established millions of years ago after an inland sea that once covered the landscape receded. Leaving behind a hardy, calcium-rich grassland encrusted with limestone and shale. Travel the backroads to see (and photograph) some of the best sunsets in Kansas.
"The Flint Hills are an incredible, wonderful, almost magical place. There's no other place like it."
Naturalist Jan Jantzen
commonly asked
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
WHY ARE THE FLINT HILLS IMPORTANT?
Once covering 170 million acres across the United States and Canada, the Tallgrass Prairie has become an endangered ecosystem. Today, only four percent of the prairie remains. The majority of which lays within the Flint Hills.
HOW DID THE FLINT HILLS GET ITS NAME?
When U.S. Army Captain Zebulon Pike passed through this area in 1806, he wrote in his journal, "passed very ruf [sic] Flint Hills," putting a name to this unique region.
WHERE ARE THE FLINT HILLS?
The Flint Hills cuts through central Kansas, from its northern border in Marshall County, and dips below into Oklahoma. The ecological area covers several counties from as far east as Shawnee County to its western edge in Geary County.
WHY ARE THE FLINT HILLS & PRAIRIE BURNED?
As the seasons transition from winter to spring (typically late February through earlyApril), farmers, ranchers and conservationist use prescribed burns as a way to ensure the tallgrass prairie remains healthy. Burning off overgrowth, allowing moisture and sunlight to enrich the soil. The fires also wards off the spread of invasive plants and trees, and helps prevent wildfires.
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