In the High Plains of western Kansas, the first Native Americans were nomadic and relied on large bison herds, and after the Spanish brought horses to the Americas, horse culture spread across the region among tribal allies such as the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Because of the dry climate and active native populations, settlement came gradually in the late 19th century and was often tied to railroads that surveyed towns and promoted settlement on railroad-owned or employee-owned land. Homesteaders pursuing traditional farming fought open grazing and drove back Native Americans, shaping western Kansas in their image, but overgrazing, surface water depletion, and agricultural practices later contributed to the Dust Bowl, which depopulated the area and helped lead to modern conservation practices. Agriculture later flourished through mechanization, center-pivot irrigation, and wheat adapted to drier climates, even as depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer continues to force further adaptation. Kansas contains a wide variety of landscapes formed by geology and human activity, and along this route the expansive High Plains, dramatic sky, and Arikaree Breaks stand out. Geologists divide Kansas into 11 physiographic regions, each reflecting shared landforms and geological history. Railroads were central to agricultural growth by carrying the region's bounty to larger markets and could determine whether towns survived, as shown by the relocation of residents from Wano to present-day St. Francis. Points of interest along the route include the Arikaree Breaks; Cherry Creek, where Cheyenne survivors of Sand Creek gathered before the attack on Julesburg and the widening conflict of the Plains War; wildlife areas along the Republican River; museums and arts centers in St. Francis and Goodland; the Goodland Grasshopper folk-art sculpture; the Kidder Massacre Site, where Lieutenant Lyman S. Kidder and his patrol were killed in 1867 while carrying dispatches for George Custer; Mount Sunflower, the highest point in Kansas; the Wrench Museum; and Fort Wallace Museum and Cemetery, which preserve remains and memorials connected to soldiers, civilians, and violence during the Indian War era.