Southeast Kansas

Southeast Kansas is a region of the U.S. state of Kansas. It can be roughly defined by Woodson County in the northwest, Bourbon County in the northeast, Cherokee County in the southeast, and Montgomery County in the southwest. Geographically it is dominated by a broad rolling landscape located between the Flint Hills to the west and includes the Ozarks to the southeast. Some notable towns there include Pittsburg, Parsons, Coffeyville, Independence, Chanute, Fort Scott, and Iola. The region has a land area of 13,624.13 km² (5,260.30 sq mi) and a 2000 census population of 180,815 inhabitants. It has 6.43% of the state's land area and 6.726% of its population. It is dominated by a broad rolling landscape that includes the Ozarks. It receives more precipitation than any other part of Kansas. Southeast Kansas is located in the tallgrass prairie ecosystem of North America. Originally inhabited by several Native American tribes, frontier towns largely dependent on cattle ranching, and mining, were wracked by violence over the issue of slavery both before and during the American Civil War. Southeast Kansas offers one of the premier reconstructions of early life in the United States Army at Fort Scott National Historic Site.