The Midwest has a rich agricultural industry due to its flat topography and humus-rich soil deposits which have made it the nation's breadbasket, producing grains like corn, soybeans, and wheat. Invention of machinery like the grain combine led to larger industrial farms and the decline of small farms, pushing many residents to cities. Major industries in the Midwest include steel production in Great Lakes cities, auto manufacturing centered in Detroit using iron ore from the region, and agriculture which dominates both landscapes and economies across the region.

1. Midwest Steel and
perceptions Auto
Industry
Great Lake
States
Cattle Farming
Nation’s
Breadbasket

2. Midwest
The Badlands (South Dakota)

3. Midwest
Mt. Rushmore (South Dakota)

4. Midwest
Black Hills (South Dakota)

5. Midwest
Tall Grass/Short Grass Prairies

6. Midwest
Agriculture
Humus – an aspect
of soil, very dark
colored organic
Relatively flat topography and rich mineral
material, nutrient
deposits from volcanic ash...
rich.
Humus combines
with minerals to
form soil.
Soils in the Midwest
are Humus-rich!

7. Midwest
Agriculture
Grains like wheat
and oats grow
farther west where
the climate is more
arid. Hay and
cattle
farming are
Leafy green plants like common
farther
corn and soybeans grow in north
warmer, wetter areas like where soils
Indiana, Illinois and Iowa. are poorer.

8. Midwest
Agriculture as Industry
Agricultural output is great in the Midwest, creating
wealth and enough food to be exported to needy areas
in the world.
Invention of the grain combine
allowed for more acreage to be
farmed with less workers.
Less profitable small farms
gave way to industrial farms.
As a result, lots of people
moved to cities looking for
work.

9. Midwest
Agriculture dominates cities and landscapes
The Grain Exchange dominates business in
the cities...
...grain elevators
dominate the
landscape...
...and trains transport grains throughout the midwest.

10. Midwest
Iron Ore and the Auto Industry
Iron Ore is mined in the
upper Midwest,
transported across the
Great Lakes, and used in
the Auto Industry in
Detroit.

11. Midwest
Major Cities