Iowa is Not That Flat

Iowa is not as flat as most people assume it to be. According to a new study by researchers at the University of Kansas, Iowa doesn’t even rank among the top 10 flattest states in the U.S. The study used a “geomorphometric analysis” of 48 states and Washington, D.C., by measuring the rise of land at the horizon, and found that Florida is the flattest state in the nation.

Iowa’s neighboring states, Illinois and Minnesota, rank second and fifth respectively, while Kansas, which was once labeled “flatter than a pancake” in a satirical study, ranks seventh. There are many parts of Iowa that are more elevated than you imagined.