MISSOURI, mi-eoo'rl, State of the North American. Union, geographically• the central commonwealth of continental United States. Sometimes called a Southern State and again a Western, State, it is • neither southern nor western, in history, population nor location. Though it extends farther south than Virginia, it extends farther north than Kansas. It is practically well-tligh equally divided between the tworeat parties. Its negro population is small, on 5 per cent of • the total. Though an original slave State, Missouri abolished slavery by its own act. It may be properly classed not as northern or southern, eastern or western, but as a central State. , The State is bounded on the north by Iowa, on the south by Arkansas, en the east by Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee and on the west by Nebraska, Kansas and Okla homa'. Its capital. is Jefferson City. In area it is 69,415 square miles (693 of water). It is larger than any State east of or bordering on the Mississippi except Minnesota. The census of 1910 gives the population of the State as 3,293335. In 1917 it was 'estimated at 3,429,595.
Missouri has three distinct physiographic regions: the Upland Plain of the northern and western part of the State, the Ozark Plateau of the southern half of the State and the lowland area in the southeastern corner of the State. The upland area and the Ozark regions are separated from Saint Louis to Boonville by the Missouri River. At Boon ville the line turns to the southwest and passes, out of the State to the north of Joplin. There is a well-marked escarpment between the Ozark Plateau and the southeast lowlands. The lowlands have an altitude of little more than 300 feet above sea-level. The upland area is marked by broad rolling hills and wide valleys. Much good farming land is in this region. The Ozark region of the southern part of the State is distinctly different in its topography from the upland region of northern Missouri, though at their junction they grade into each other. The Ozark region has a mature topography, nearly every bit of the region being in a slope. The crests of the ridges are very narrow and only the largest streams have developed river flats to any extent. The ridges have about the same altitude. The region is densely forested.
River Systems.—Missouri has possibly more miles of navigable rivers than any State in the Union. Along the eastern shore of the State flows the Mississippi, which affords transporta tion 10 months of the year. The Missouri River forms the northern half of the western border, and turning east cuts the State into halves and unites with the Mississippi at a point 12 miles north of Saint Louis. From the Ozarks flow
the Osage, the Gasconade, the White and other smaller streams north and east into the Mis souri. The Meramac flows through a hilly, wooded country northeast and empties into the Mississippi near Saint Louis. North of the Missouri are smaller tributaries, principal among which are the Grand, the Charlton and the Platte rivers. All small rivers in the north ern half of the State east of Macon flow into the Mississippi. The largest of these is the Salt River.
Missouri is in the central portion of the United States far from either ocean and unprotected by mountain ranges. The climate is, therefore, one of extremes both in warm and cold weather, moisture and drought. The high est•range of mountains in the State, the Ozarks, is not sufficiently lofty to affect the climate of the State at large and influences the climates of the neighboring counties only to a slight de gree. The mean summer temperature, as shown by the observation of the United States Weather Bureau, for the portion of the State north of the Missouri River fbr a period of 27 years is 74° and for the southern portion 78.5°. The maximum temperature, however, is often more than 100°. The winter temperature dur ing this period averaged 33.9° for the State, varying from 28.5° in the northern half to 39.5' in the southern half. The winter climate is variable. Often the temperature falls below zero. During other winters the temperature scarcely reaches zero. In the winter months of 1915 a temperature of 30° and slightly more below zero was registered in several sections of the northern half of the State. The Mis sissippi River is frequently frozen over at Saint Louis and other river points. Ice gorges form about the piers of the bridges, blocking all river traffic. In some winters the Missouri River is frozen over during the entire season. The Mississippi often remains open until the middle of the month of February and at other times closes early in December. The mean annual temperature of the State varies from 53° to 57°. In spite of abundant rains the climate is, gener ally speaking, a dry one. The evaporation is so rapid that the atmosphere is seldom overloaded with moisture. A clear sky, a fertile, produc tive soil and fair weather are among the chief natural advantages of the State. Thunder storms are of frequent occurrence, especially in the month of June.