Plain vs. Prairie

Main Difference

The main difference between Plain and Prairie is that the Plain is a flat region and Prairie is a ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome.

• Plain

  In geography, a plain is a flat, sweeping landmass that generally does not change much in elevation. Plains occur as lowlands along the bottoms of valleys or on the doorsteps of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands.In a valley, a plain is enclosed on two sides, but in other cases a plain may be delineated by a complete or partial ring of hills, by mountains, or by cliffs. Where a geological region contains more than one plain, they may be connected by a pass (sometimes termed a gap). Coastal plains would mostly rise from sea level until they run into elevated features such as mountains or plateaus.Plains are one of the major landforms on earth, where they are present on all continents, and would cover more than one-third of the world’s land area. Plains may have been formed from flowing lava, deposited by water, ice, wind, or formed by erosion by these agents from hills and mountains. Plains would generally be under the grassland (temperate or subtropical), steppe (semi-arid), savannah (tropical) or tundra (polar) biomes. In a few instances, deserts and rainforests can also be plains.Plains in many areas are important for agriculture because where the soils were deposited as sediments they may be deep and fertile, and the flatness facilitates mechanization of crop production; or because they support grasslands which provide good grazing for livestock.

• Prairie

  Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type. Temperate grassland regions include the Pampas of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, and the steppe of Ukraine, Russia and Kazakhstan. Lands typically referred to as “prairie” tend to be in North America. The term encompasses the area referred to as the Interior Lowlands of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, which includes all of the Great Plains as well as the wetter, hillier land to the east.

  In the U.S., the area is constituted by most or all of the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma, and sizable parts of the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and western and southern Minnesota. The Palouse of Washington and the Central Valley of California are also prairies. The Canadian Prairies occupy vast areas of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

• Plain (adjective)

  not decorated or elaborate; simple or basic in character

  “everyone dined at a plain wooden table”

  “good plain food”

• Plain (adjective)

  without a pattern; in only one colour

  “a plain fabric”

• Plain (adjective)

  (of paper) without lines.

• Plain (adjective)

  bearing no indication as to contents or affiliation

  “donations can be put in a plain envelope”

• Plain (adjective)

  having no pretensions; not remarkable or special

  “a plain, honest man with no nonsense about him”

• Plain (adjective)

  (of a person) without a special title or status

  “for years he was just plain Bill”

• Plain (adjective)

  easy to perceive or understand; clear

  “the advantages were plain to see”

  “it was plain that something was wrong”

• Plain (adjective)

  (of written or spoken usage) clearly expressed, without the use of technical or abstruse terms

  “an insurance policy written in plain English”

• Plain (adjective)

  not using concealment or deception; frank

  “there were indrawn breaths at such plain speaking”

• Plain (adjective)

  (of a person) not beautiful or attractive

  “a plain, round-faced woman”

• Plain (adjective)

  sheer; simple (used for emphasis)

  “the main problem is just plain exhaustion”

• Plain (adjective)

  denoting or relating to a type of knitting stitch produced by putting the needle through the front of each stitch from left to right.

• Plain (adverb)

  used for emphasis

  “perhaps the youth was just plain stupid”

• Plain (adverb)

  clearly or unequivocally

  “I’m finished with you, I’ll tell you plain”

• Plain (noun)

  a large area of flat land with few trees

  “the coastal plain”

• Plain (verb)

  mourn or lament.

• Plain (verb)

  complain.

• Plain (verb)

  emit a mournful or plaintive sound.