Kansas Flint Hills Featured in April Issue of National Geographic

First posted on 03-18-2007

Traveling Exhibit Debuts at Kansas State Capitol March 19, 2007

National Geographic’s April 2007 issue examines the beautiful Flint Hills of Kansas through the lens of respected photojournalist and Kansas native, Jim Richardson. The 22-page feature section, titled “The Flint Hills: A Kansas Treasure” captures a glimpse of the majesty of this unique Kansas prairie-land.

To complement the magazine spread and further celebrate the Flint Hills, The National Geographic Society and the Kansas Division of Travel and Tourism are sponsoring a traveling exhibit of 32 large-scale versions of the photographs featured in the magazine. The exhibit, which includes stops across the state of Kansas, opens for the first week of display in the rotunda of the State Capitol in Topeka on Monday, March 19, 2007. It then moves to the Governor’s Office for one week, beginning March 26, 2007. An extensive 18-month exhibit schedule is planned for more than 30 communities across the state. For a complete exhibit schedule listing, visit http://www.TravelKS.com. As part of the celebration, posters featuring one of Richardson’s Flint Hills photographs will be for sale with proceeds benefiting the Flint Hills Tourism Coalition.

The Flint Hills extend from near the Nebraska border south into Oklahoma. The region’s core is roughly bounded by I-70 on the north, I-35 on the south and east and Kansas-15 on the west. Within this area, the Flint Hills National Scenic Byway stretches 48 miles along Kansas-177 from Council Grove, once a Santa Fe Trail staging area, south through Strong City and neighboring Cottonwood Falls, then on to Cassoday, a tiny ranch town that bills itself as the Prairie Chicken Capital of the World.

Explorer Zebulon Pike named the Flint Hills in 1806 for the cobbles of flint-like chert that glinted through the tall prairie grasses. In this nearly treeless region of immense horizons, big bluestem grass nourished by minerals in the limestone grows so tall that early explorers wrote of having to stand up in the saddle to get their bearings. The lush grass drew vast herds of buffalo that the native hunters followed.

Beginning in the mid-1800s, cattle rapidly replaced the buffalo, and the homesteaders displaced the Indians. The honey-colored limestone provided building blocks, even fence posts, for settlers in the wood-scarce landscape. Today, because its rocky soil has stubbornly resisted the plow, the Flint Hills region retains much of its untamed character.

“The Flint Hills beckoned because they provide a spectacular landscape in our own backyard,” Richardson said. “The Flint Hills should never play second fiddle to our nation’s most recognized landmark landscapes.”

Richardson is a Lindsborg resident and veteran of more than 35 stories for National Geographic and its sister publication, National Geographic Traveler. Interested in the Flint Hills since his early days at The Topeka Capital-Journal, he proposed the Flint Hills story to editors two years ago as part of the magazine’s ongoing coverage of the world’s most distinctive landscapes.

The National Geographic Society is one of the world’s largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. Founded in 1888 to “increase and diffuse geographic knowledge,” the Society works to inspire people to care about the planet. National Geographic reflects the world through its five magazines, television programs, films, radio, books, videos, maps, interactive media and merchandise. For more information, visit http://www.nationalgeographic.com.

Photo Credit
Flint Hills - Jim Richardson