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How does elevation change from the Rocky Mountains to the eastern Great Plains?
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Great Plains
Flint Hills region, eastern Great Plains, east-central Kansas.
The Great Plains function as a vast, high plateau that slopes downward from west to east. In the United States, the elevation at the base of the Rocky Mountains ranges between 5,000 and 6,000 feet (1,500 and 1,800 metres) above sea level. As one moves eastward across the region, this altitude steadily decreases, reaching approximately 1,500 feet at the eastern boundary of the plains.1