Missouri Major Land Resource Areas
(Updated)


Illinois and Iowa Deep Loess and Drift Iowa and Missouri Heavy Till Plain Iowa and Missouri Deep Loess Hills Central Claypan Areas Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes Central Mississippi Valley Wooded Slopes Cherokee Prairies Springfield Plain Ozark Highland St. Francois Knobs and Basins Southern Mississippi Valley Alluvium Southern Mississippi Valley Silty Uplands Southern Mississippi Valley Alluvium Ozark HighlandMissouri Major Land Resource Areas
  Click the plus sign to open table Comparing Missouri MLRAs

MLRA Land Use Elevation Parent Material Annual Precipitation Soils Natural Vegetation
107 60% Cropland 200-500m Loess 625-925mm Udolls Tall grass Prairie
108 80% Cropland 200-300m Thin loess over glacial till 750-900mm Udolls Tall grass Prairie
109 55% Cropland 300-300m Thin loess over glacial till 825-1,025mm Udolls Grassland
112 50% Cropland 100-400m Thin loess over bedrock 900-1,050mm Aqualfs and Udolls Tall grass Prairie Hardwood Forest
113 60% Cropland 200-300m Loess over glacial till ~1,025mm Aqualfs Tall grass Prairie
115b 40% Cropland 100-300m Dissected glacial till plain 900-1,150mm Udalfs Hardwood forest
115c 40% Cropland 100-300m Dissected glacial till plain 900-1,150mm Udalfs Hardwood forest
116a 70% Forest 200-500m Dissected limestone plateaus 1,025-1,225mm Udults and Udalfs Oak-hickory-pine forest
116b 40% Cropland 35% Forests 200-500m Limestone ridges and plateaus 975-1,225mm Udalfs and Udults Oak-hickory savannah
116c Forests 200-500m Igneous Knobs 975-1,225mm Udalfs and Udults Oak-hickory savannah
131 55% Cropland 100m Broad floodplains 1,150-1,650mm Aqualfs and Aquepts Deciduous bottomland forests
134 35% Cropland 100-200m Loess 1,150-1,525mm Udalfs Hardwood and pine forest
  Click the plus sign to read the info Agricultural Handbook

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1981.
       Land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United States.
       Agriculture Handbook 296.U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C.

Introduction

    This handbook is an assemblage of currently available information about the land as a resource for farming, ranching, forestry, engineering, recreation, and other uses. It is a revision of USDA Agriculture Handbook No. 296, Land Resource Regions and Major Land Resource Areas of the United States, published in 1965. Revisions consist of: 
    (1) Refined delineations of land resource regions (LRR's) and major land resource areas (MLRA's), 
    (2) identification of the soils of each region and area according to the system of Soil Taxonomy, (1975), 
    (3) a brief discussion concerning the potential natural vegetation of the resource regions and areas, and 
    (4) inclusion of major land resource areas and land resource regions for the states of Alaska and Hawaii and the territory of Puerto Rico (Appendix III). Information is current as of April 1978.
    The information in this handbook affords a basis for making decisions about national and regional agricultural concerns, identifies needs for research and resource inventories, provides a broad base for extrapolating the results of research within national boundaries, and serves as a framework for organizing and operating resource conservation programs.
    The land resource categories used at state and national levels are land resource units, land resource areas, and land resource regions.
    Land resource units are geographic areas, usually several thousand acres in extent, that are characterized by a particular pattern of soils, climate, water resources, and land uses. A unit can be one continuous area or several separate nearby areas.
    Land resource units are the basic units from which major land resource areas are determined. They are also the basic units for state land resource maps. They are coextensive with state general soil map units, but some general soil map units are subdivided into land resource units because of significant geographic differences in climate, water resources, and land use. Land resource units are not described in this handbook, and they are not shown on the national map.
    Major land resource areas (MLRA's) are geographically associated land resource units. Identification of these large areas is important in statewide agricultural planning and has value in interstate, regional, and national planning.
    In this handbook major land resource areas are designated by Arabic numbers and identified by a descriptive geographic name. For example, MLRA 1 (Northern Pacific Coast Range, Foothills, and Valleys) is on the west coast; MLRA 157 is on the east coast; and MLRA 175 (Kuskokwim Highland) is in Alaska.
    Some major land resource areas are designated by an Arabic number and a letter because previously established major land resource areas have been divided into smaller, more homogeneous areas. The use of numbers and letters to identify the newly created major land resource areas requires fewer changes in existing information in records and in data bases. A few major land resource areas consist of two or more parts separated for short distances by other land resource areas. In places one of these parts is widely separated from the main body of the major land resource area and is in an adjoining land resource region. The description of the respective major land resource area also applies to these outlying parts.
    Land resource regions are designated by capital letters identified by a descriptive name. For example, the descriptive name for Land Resource Region A is the Northwestern Forest, Forage, and Specialty Crop Region.
    The dominant physical characteristics of the land resource regions and of the 204 major land resource areas are described briefly under the headings land use, elevation and topography, climate, water, soils, and potential natural vegetation. The state or states in which an MLRA occurs and the extent of the MLRA are indicated on the first page of each description. The area and proportionate extent of the regions and the MLRA's are given in appendix I.

Land use.--The relative extent of the federally or privately owned land is indicated if significant. The extent of the land used for cropland, pasture, range, forests, industrial and urban developments, and other special purposes is indicated. These fractions or percentages are for the entire resource area unless specifically stated otherwise. Also included is a list of theprincipal crops grown and the type of farming practiced.
Elevation and topography.--A range in height above sea level and significant exceptions, if applicable, are provided for the area as a whole. The topography of the area, including natural and cultural features, is described.
Climate.--Climatic data discussed are: (1) A range of the annual precipitation for the driest parts of the area to the wettest and the seasonal distribution of precipitation and (2) a range of the average annual temperature and the average freeze-free period characteristic of different parts of the resource area.
Water.--Information is provided concerning surface stream flow and ground water and the source of water for municipal use and for irrigation. Also, land resource areas dependent on other areas for water supply and those that furnish water to other areas are specified.
Soils.--The dominant soils of the major land resource area are identified according to the principal suborders, great groups, and representative soil series.
    General descriptions of the soil orders, suborders, and great groups are provided in appendix II.
Potential natural vegetation.--The plant species that the major land resource area can support are identified by their common names.
    The descriptions are based on information from many sources, mainly from the Soil Conservation Service U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most information about land use is based on recent reports of state soil and water conservation needs. For additional sources refer to the list of references.
    General descriptions of the soil orders, suborders, and great groups are provided in appendix II.