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Kansas is located in the center of the contiguous 48 U.S. states. It contains 81,823 square miles
(211,921 square kilometers or 21,192,157 hectares) of land, and 459 square miles (1,189 square kilometers or
118,880 hectares) covered by water. The state’s total area of 82,282 square miles (213,109 square
kilometers or 21,310,940 hectares) makes it the 15th largest among the United States. The state is
bordered to the north by Nebraska, Oklahoma to the south, to the east by Missouri, and to the west by
Colorado.
Kansas is divided geographically into three land areas: the Dissected Till Plains in the
northeastern region, the rolling Southeastern Plains with the Flint Hills and Osage Plains, and the
Great Plains. Kansas’s highest point is Mt.
Sunflower, at 4,039 feet (1.23 kilometers). Important rivers in Kansas include the Kansas,
Missouri, Arkansas, Republican, and Smoky Hill Rivers. Several man-made reservoirs exist including
Tuttle Creek Reservoir and Cheney reservoir.
Kansas’s climate is influenced by its location in the nation’s geographic center, and can be
described as a continental climate, yet also has elements of semiarid steppe and humid subtropical
climates. The Sunflower State’s temperatures vary greatly throughout the year; summers are quite hot,
and winters range from very cold in the northwest to mild in the southwest. Over the year,
temperatures can reach an average monthly high of 92.9 degrees F (33.8 degrees C) to an average
monthly low of 15.7 degrees F (9.06 degrees C). Kansas also experiences great variation in
precipitation across the state. Rainfall averages range from as little as 20 inches (50.8
centimeters) to the west and over 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) in the southeast. Average annual
snowfall ranges from 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) in the far south to 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) to
the far northwest. Kansas does receive severe, supercell thunderstorms which occasionally produce
strong tornadoes; spring thunderstorms are most frequent. However, the Sunflower State does enjoy
abundant sunshine over the entire year.
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