View source for Geography of Missouri

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[[File:Missouri physiography provinces 1.jpg|thumb|250px|Major physiographic provinces of Missouri]]
[[File:Missouri Geology Primary Rock Types v1.png|thumb|250px|Geologic map of Missouri]]
[[Missouri]], a state near the geographical center of the [[United States]], has [[Physiographic Regions of the United States|three distinct physiographic divisions]]:

* a north-western upland plain or prairie region part of the Interior Plains' Central Lowland ([[Physiographic Regions of the United States|areas Osage Plain 12f and Dissected Till Plains 12e]]) known as the northern plains
* a lowland in the extreme southeast [[Missouri Bootheel|bootheel]] region of Missouri, part of the Atlantic Plain known as the Mississippi Alluvial Plain ([[Physiographic Regions of the United States|areas 3e]]) or the [[Mississippi embayment]]
* the Missouri portion of the [[Ozark]] Plateau (areas 14a and 14b) which lies between the Mississippi Alluvial Plain and the Central lowland.
The boundary between the northern plains and the Ozark region follows the 
[[Missouri River]] from its mouth at [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] to [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]]. This also corresponds to the southernmost extent of glaciation during the [[Pre-Illinoian|Pre-Illinoian Stage]] which destroyed the remnant plateau to the north but left the ancient landforms to the south unaltered. The Ozark boundary runs southwestward from there towards [[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]] at the southeast corner of [[Kansas]]. The boundary between the Ozark and lowland regions runs southwest from [[Cape Girardeau, Missouri|Cape Girardeau]] on the [[Mississippi River]] to the [[Arkansas]] border just southwest of [[Poplar Bluff, Missouri|Poplar Bluff]]. Missouri borders eight other US States, more than any other state except [[Tennessee]], which also borders eight states.

==Regions==

=== Northern Plains ===
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The Dissected [[Till]] Plains portion of the northern plains region lies in the portion of the state north of the [[Missouri River]], while the Osage plains portion extends into the southwestern portion of the state bordering the [[Ozark Plateau]]. Thus the northern plains covers an area slightly more than a third of the state. This region is a beautiful, rolling country, with a great abundance of streams.

It is more hilly and broken in its western half than in its eastern half. The elevation in the extreme northwestern Missouri is about {{convert|1200|ft|m|abbr=on}}. and in the extreme northeastern portion about {{convert|500|ft|m|abbr=on}}., while the rim of the region to the southeast, along the border of the Ozark region, has an elevation of about {{convert|900|ft|m|abbr=on}}. The valleys for the larger streams are about 250 to {{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on}} deep and sometimes 8 to {{convert|20|mi|km}} wide with the country bordering them being the most broken of the region.

The smaller streams have so eroded the whole face of the country that little of the original surface plain is to be seen. The [[Mississippi River]] runs along the length of Missouri's eastern side and is skirted throughout by topographic relief of 400 to {{convert|600|ft|m|abbr=on}}. elevation.

=== Ozark Plateau ===
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The [[Ozarks]] region is essentially a low dome, with local faulting and minor undulations, dominated by a ridge or, more exactly, a relatively even belt of highland that runs from near the Mississippi river about [[Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri|Ste. Genevieve]] to [[McDonald County, Missouri|McDonald County]] on the Arkansas border. High rocky bluffs rise precipitously on the Mississippi, sometimes to a height of {{convert|150|ft|m|abbr=on}} or so above the water, from the mouth of the [[Meramec River]] to Ste. Genevieve. These mark where that river cuts the Ozark ridge. Across the Mississippi River, this ridge is continued by the [[Shawnee Hills]] in Illinois. 
[[File:Roubidoux sandstone bluff.JPG|thumb|The sandstone member of the Ordovician [[Roubidoux Formation]] outcrops along many bluffs of the southern Ozarks]]
The elevations of the crests in Missouri vary from 1,100 to {{convert|1700|ft|m|abbr=on}}. This second physiographic region comprises somewhat less than two-thirds of the area of the state. The Burlington [[escarpment]] of [[Mississippian age|Mississippian]] rocks, which in places is as much as 250 to {{convert|300|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height, runs along the western edge of the [[Ordovician]] formations and divides the region into an eastern and a western area, known respectively to physiographers as the Salem Plateau and the Springfield Plateau. [[Headward erosion]] by the south flowing tributaries to the [[White River (Arkansas)|White River]] in northern Arkansas has created a southern escarpment to both the Springfield and Salem plateaus that runs from [[McDonald County, Missouri|McDonald]] through [[Barry County, Missouri|Barry]], [[Stone County, Missouri|Stone]], [[Christian County, Missouri|Christian]], [[Douglas County, Missouri|Douglas]], and [[Howell County, Missouri|Howell]] counties. To the south of this escarpment lies some of the more rugged and highly dissected parts of the Missouri Ozarks. The famed [[The Shepherd of the Hills (novel)|Shepherd of the Hills]] region near [[Branson, Missouri|Branson]] lies within this rugged area. To the east of the [[West Plains, Missouri|West Plains]] plain lies the dissected valleys of the [[Eleven Point River]] and the [[Current River (Ozarks)|Current River]].

Superficially, each is a simple rolling plateau, much broken by erosion (though considerable undissected areas drained by underground channels remain), especially in the east, and dotted with hills. Some of these are residual outliers of the eroded [[Mississippian age|Mississippian]] [[limestone]]s to the west, and others are the summits of a [[Precambrian]] topography above and around which [[sedimentary]] formations were deposited and then eroded. There is no arrangement in chains, but only scattered rounded peaks and short ridges, with winding valleys about them.

The two highest points in the state are [[Taum Sauk Mountain]] at {{convert|1772|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the [[Saint Francois Mountains|St. Francois Mountains]] in [[Iron County, Missouri|Iron County]] and Lead Hill just east of the community of [[Cedar Gap, Missouri|Cedar Gap]] at {{convert|1744|ft|m|abbr=on}} in the southwestern corner of [[Wright County, Missouri|Wright County]]. 
Few localities have an elevation exceeding {{convert|1400|ft|m|abbr=on}}. Rather broad, smooth valleys, well degraded hills with rounded summits, and despite the escarpments generally smooth contours and sky-lines, characterize the bulk of the Ozark region.

=== Mississippi Alluvial Plain ===
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The third region, the lowlands of the south-east and part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, has an area of some {{convert|3000|sqmi|km2|adj=on}}. It is an undulating country, for the most part well drained, but swampy in its lowest portions. The Mississippi is skirted with lagoons, lakes and morasses from Ste. Genevieve to the [[Arkansas]] border, and in places is confined by levees.  These lowlands are the northernmost extent of the [[Mississippi embayment]]. The area is within the [[New Madrid Seismic Zone]] and includes the [[epicenter]] location of the [[1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes]] at [[New Madrid, Missouri]].

==Climate==
{{refimprove section|date=March 2025}}

{{Main|Climate of Missouri}}
[[File:Missouri Köppen.svg|thumb|Köppen climate types of Missouri]]

Missouri generally has a [[humid continental climate]] with cool, sometimes cold, winters and hot, humid, and wet summers. In the southern part of the state, particularly in the [[Missouri Bootheel|Bootheel]], the climate becomes [[humid subtropical climate|humid subtropical]]. Located in the interior United States, Missouri often experiences extreme temperatures. Without high mountains or oceans nearby to moderate temperature, its climate is alternately influenced by air from the cold Arctic and the hot and humid Gulf of Mexico. Missouri's highest recorded temperature is {{convert|118|F|C}} at [[Warsaw, Missouri|Warsaw]] and [[Union, Missouri|Union]] on July 14, 1954, while the lowest recorded temperature is {{convert|-40|F|C}} also at Warsaw on February 13, 1905.

Located in [[Tornado Alley]], Missouri also receives extreme weather in the form of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. On May 22, 2011, a [[2011 Joplin tornado|massive EF-5 tornado]] killed 158 people and destroyed roughly one-third of the city of [[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]]. The tornado caused an estimated $1–3&nbsp;billion in damages and injured more than a thousand people as it tore through the urban area. It was the first EF5 to hit the state since 1957 and the deadliest in the U.S. since 1947, making it the seventh deadliest tornado in American history and 27th deadliest in the world. [[St. Louis]] and its suburbs also have a history of experiencing particularly severe tornadoes, the most recent one of note being an EF4 that damaged [[Lambert-St. Louis International Airport]] on April 22, 2011. [[1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado|One of the worst tornadoes in American history]] struck St. Louis on May 27, 1896, killing at least 255 people and causing $10&nbsp;million in damage (equivalent to $3.9&nbsp;billion in 2009 or ${{Formatprice| {{Inflation|US|3900000000|2009|r=2}}}} in today's dollars).

{| class="wikitable" "text-align:center;font-size:88%;"
| colspan="16" style="text-align:center;font-size:120%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various Missouri cities in °F (°C).
|-
! City !! Avg. !! Jan!! Feb!! Mar!! Apr!! May!! Jun!! Jul!! Aug!! Sep!! Oct!! Nov!! Dec !!Year !!
|-
{{Average temperature table/row/F| [[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]]|High|37 44 55 66 75 84 89 87 79 68 53 42 65.0}}
{{Average temperature table/row/F| Columbia|Low|18 23 33 43 53 62 66 64 55 44 33 22 43.0}}
|-
{{Average temperature table/row/F| [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]|High|36 43 54 65 75 84 89 87 79 68 52 40 64.4}}
{{Average temperature table/row/F| Kansas City|Low|18 23 33 44 54 63 68 66 57 46 33 22 44.0}}
|-
{{Average temperature table/row/F| [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]]|High|42 48 58 68 76 85 90 90 81 71 56 46 67.6}}
{{Average temperature table/row/F| Springfield|Low|22 26 35 44 53 62 67 66 57 46 35 26 45.0}}
|-
{{Average temperature table/row/F| [[St. Louis]]|High|40 45 56 67 76 85 89 88 80 69 56 43 66.2}}
{{Average temperature table/row/F| St. Louis|Low|24 28 37 47 57 67 71 69 61 49 38 27 48.0}}
|-
| colspan="16" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;background:#E8EAFA;"|Source:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ustravelweather.com/weather-missouri/ |title=Missouri Weather And Climate |access-date=17 July 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505201459/http://www.ustravelweather.com/missouri |archive-date=May 5, 2011 }}</ref>
<!--<ref name="weather.com">{{cite web
|url=http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/USMO0787?from=36hr_bottomnav_undeclared |title=Average Weather for St. Louis, MO—Temperature and Precipitation |publisher=Weather.com |access-date=December 31, 2011}}</ref>-->
|}
[[File:Lake of the Ozarks - Missouri (40533516433).jpg|thumb|The [[Lake of the Ozarks]] is one of several man-made lakes in Missouri, created by the damming of several rivers and tributaries. The lake has a surface area of 54,000 acres and 1,150 miles of shoreline and has become a popular tourist destination.]]

== Drainage ==
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{{See also|List of rivers of Missouri}}
The drainage of the state is wholly into the [[Mississippi River]], directly or indirectly, and to a large extent into either that river or the [[Missouri River]]  within the borders of the state. The latter stream, crossing the state and cutting the eastern and western borders at or near St Louis and Kansas City respectively, has a length within Missouri of {{convert|430|mi|km}}. The areas drained into the Mississippi outside the state through the [[St. Francis River|St. Francis]], [[White River (Arkansas)|White]] and other minor streams are relatively small. The larger streams of the [[The Ozarks|Ozark]] dome are of decided interest to the physiographer. Those of the White system have open trough valleys bordered by hills in their upper courses and canyons in their lower courses.

Both the Ozark region and the northern plain region are divided by minor escarpments into ten or twelve sub-regions. There are remarkable differences in the drainage areas of their two sides, with interesting illustrations of shifting water-partings; and the [[White River (Arkansas–Missouri)|White]], [[Gasconade River|Gasconade]], [[Osage River|Osage]] and other rivers are remarkable for upland meanders, lying, not on flood-plains, but around the spurs of a highland country. These [[Entrenched river|incised meander]]s have been interpreted to have formed by downward erosion after uplift of an older [[peneplain]] surface.

Many streams in Missouri are called "rivers" though they are small enough perhaps to be called "creeks".  This is due to a direct translation of the French word "rivière" which implies a stream size smaller than the French word "fleuve", meaning "a river that flows to the sea".  An example of this is "[[Loutre River]]", from "Rivière Loutre", or "Otter Stream".

== Caves ==
{{See also|List of caves in Missouri}}
[[File:Missouri karst feature distribution v1.svg|thumb|right|Distribution of [[karst]] features in Missouri: darker red indicates greater cave density; [[losing stream]] courses are shown in yellow; blue spots indicate known springs.]]
The Ozarks region has a well-developed [[karst]] topography with numerous areas of [[sinkhole]]s, [[losing stream|stream capture]], and [[cave]]rn development.<ref name=NPS>{{cite web |title=Ozark - National Scenic Riverways  - Missouri |url=https://www.nps.gov/ozar/learn/nature/caves.htm |website=National Park Service |access-date=8 November 2025}}</ref>

Caves, within areas of [[limestone]] and [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]] bedrock, occur in great numbers in and near the Ozark Mountain region in the southwestern part of Missouri. More than a hundred have been discovered in [[Stone County, Missouri|Stone County]] alone, and there are many in [[Christian County, Missouri|Christian]], [[Greene County, Missouri|Greene]] and [[McDonald County, Missouri|McDonald]] counties.<ref name=NPS/>

[[Marvel Cave]] is located a short distance southeast of the center of Stone County. The entrance originally was through a large sink-hole at the top of Roark Mountain, though now an easier entrance has been made. Marvel Cave has a large hall-like room about {{convert|350|ft|m|abbr=on}} long and about {{convert|125|ft|m|abbr=on}} wide with bluish-grey limestone walls, and a vaulted roof, rising from 100 to {{convert|295|ft|m|abbr=on}}. Due to its acoustic properties the room has been named the ''Auditorium''.  At one end is a large stalagmite formation about {{convert|65|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height and about {{convert|200|ft|m|abbr=on}} in girth, called the ''White Throne''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Natural Landmarks - National Natural Landmarks (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/nnlartwork_caves.htm |access-date=16 April 2023 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Exploration of [[Jacobs Cavern]], near [[Pineville, Missouri|Pineville]], [[McDonald County, Missouri|McDonald County]], revealed  human and animal skeletons along with crude implements. Crystal Cave, near Joplin, [[Jasper County, Missouri|Jasper County]], has its entire surface lined with [[calcite]] crystals and scalenohedron formations, from 1 to {{convert|2|ft|m|abbr=on}} in length.

Other caves include [[Saltpeter Cave (Missouri)|Saltpeter Cave]] (formerly Friede's Cave), about six miles (10&nbsp;km) northeast of [[Rolla, Missouri|Rolla]], [[Phelps County, Missouri|Phelps County]] and [[Mark Twain Cave]] (in [[Marion County, Missouri|Marion County]], about one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) south of [[Hannibal, Missouri|Hannibal]]), which has a deep pool containing many eyeless fish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marktwaincave.com/mtc_cavehistory.html|title=Mark Twain Cave History|access-date=7 June 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|North America|United States}}
*[[List of Missouri state parks]]
*[[Mountain peaks of Missouri]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* Guccione, M., 1983, ''Quaternary sediments and their weathering history in north central Missouri.'' Boreas. vol. 12, pp.&nbsp;217–226.
* Rovey, C.W., IIa and W.F. Keanb, 1996, ''Pre-Illinoian Glacial Stratigraphy in North-Central Missouri.'' Quaternary Research. vol. 45, no. 1, pp.&nbsp;17–29 
* Unklesbay, A.G; & Vineyard, Jerry D. (1992). ''Missouri Geology—Three Billion Years of Volcanoes, Seas, Sediments, and Erosion.'' [[University of Missouri Press]]. {{ISBN|0-8262-0836-3}}
* Bretz, J Harlen. ''Caves of Missouri''. 2012 reprint: J. Missouri. {{ISBN|978-0-988668-50-8}}

== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20030225150141/http://tapestry.usgs.gov/states/missouri.html USGS Missouri Map]

{{Missouri}}
{{U.S. political divisions geographies}}
{{EB1911|wstitle=Missouri|volume=13|pages=607–614}} (See p.&nbsp;608.)

[[Category:Geography of Missouri| ]]