Grasslands vs Plains vs Praries... What's the difference from a mappers standpoint?

[ladiestorm]

So to continue my cartographic learning, and to gain an understanding of how climate and temperate regions affect terrain, I've come to my next 'stumbling block'. Grasslands, plains and prairies.

Exactly what is the difference between these three? Can't you have grasslands on a plain, or prairie? Is there a specific set of temperate conditions that have to occur to create one or the other? I mean, One hears about the great plains of Africa, or the prairies in the MidWest of the US... but why aren't there prairies in Africa, and plains in the midwest?

What is the distinction between these three, and what types of climates will you find them?

[Josiah VE]

Well, good question. I do not know the answer and I use all three worlds interchangeably. I've never really thought about it. I imagine grasslands are mainly grassy, but plains could have other stuff? I dunno.. I live in the prairies, and I don't know the difference.

[J.Edward]

A prairie is a type of grassland, as savanna is also a type of grassland.
Plains are more a terrain feature.
One could have hilly grass lands, I suppose and it wouldn't be a plain.
And you could have grasslands up on a plateau, so grasslands needn't be in the plains, specifically.

Edit - and wikipedia is your friend

[ladiestorm]

lol... wikipedia may be my friend, but it hates my laptop. It doesn't want to load.

[Zanzos]

Prairies tend to be harder grasses and usually go through a cycle where they will go golden ( not be evergreens? ) Savannah tend to be grazing areas for large herd animals, more so than others. Grasslands tend to be odd generic term, Palin's tend to be evergreens ( at least that's how I understand, could be wrong) but that's my personal guide.

[waldronate]

http://www.differencebetween.com/dif...-and-vs-plain/ says:

What is the difference between Prairie and Plain?

• A prairie is a special type of plain.

• A plain is a flat surface with no elevation and depression. It may have any type of vegetation or no vegetation at all. When it is covered with perennial grass, the plain is referred to as a prairie.

• The word is mostly used in North America to refer to inner grassland, which surprisingly is called the Great Plains, in US. Thus, people in America find no difference in a prairie and a plain, as the same stretch of land is called a prairie in Canada, and plain in US.


Grassland (Noun) • an area dominated by grass or grasslike vegetation. See also * llanos * meadow * outback * pampa * paramo * prairie * savanna * steppe * veld


A savanna has clumps of trees and/or shrubs scattered around the grassy plain. It is basically the transitional type between a pure grassland and a woodland. Grazing animals are usually what keeps the moister parts of a savanna from going full forest.

A fun search includes the "Jornada del Muerte" in North America. It was a grassland when the Spanish explorers first saw it, but overgrazing has rendered it largely desert now. The buffalo had a similar effect in large patches of the Great Plains; their role is largely performed by humans and their agricultural equipment these days.

[Robulous]

To add to the confusion, "prairie" is just the French word for meadow

[ladiestorm]

But it seems, based on the discussion here that any of these can occur practically anywhere, in most climates... That's good to know