Montana

North Dakota

Saskatchewan

Nebraska

Missouri

Kansas

Wisconsin

Michigan

Alberta

Manitoba

South Dakota

Minnesota

Iowa

Illinois

None

A map showing selected ethnic and cultural regions in North America. Red dots indicate rural ethnic European settlements, primarily located in the Midwestern United States and parts of Canada, with clusters around the Great Lakes and the Dakotas.

Contemporary rural ethnic European settlements in North America

Rural Ethnic European Settlements

North America

nature

Arizona

Utah

Idaho

Washington

Wyoming

Kentucky

Virginia

Mississippi

West Virginia

Texas

Louisiana

Hawaii

Oregon

Alabama

New Mexico

Pennsylvania

Colorado

Nevada

Maryland

Oklahoma

Tennessee

Ontario

California

Arkansas

Ohio

Indiana

A map highlights the regions of the world with areas affected by wind erosion highlighted in dark red and water erosion-affected areas highlighted in dark blue.

Areas of soil degradation where human activities result in high or very high levels of water and wind erosion

Soil Erosion

In North America, wind erosion significantly impacts the Great Plains in southern Canada and the adjacent northern Great Plains of the United States. This issue extends to the southern plains, affecting regions in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Water erosion is prevalent in the eastern plains, the Midwest, parts of the Mississippi River Valley, Michigan, southern Ontario, and the mountainous areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. In the western United States, water erosion affects parts of California and eastern Washington, while wind erosion is notable in the deserts of southern California, Arizona, and Nevada. Western Mexico faces water erosion along its length, which continues through Central America to Panama and includes major Caribbean islands like Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic. Wind erosion is also observed in northern Mexico. In South America, water erosion is prominent along the Andes mountains from Venezuela to Bolivia, in central Chile south of Santiago, and along Brazil's Atlantic coast from Recife southward to southeastern areas. The southern Andes of Bolivia and northern Chile experience wind erosion, as does east-central Brazil. Northwestern Europe sees minimal soil erosion, but water erosion does occur in Spain, southeastern and central Europe, and western Russia, extending into Siberia in Asia. Ukraine and southern Russia are susceptible to wind erosion. In North Africa, wind erosion affects the northern Sahara from Algeria to western Egypt and extends across the Sahel from Mauritania to Sudan. Sub-Saharan Africa has scattered water erosion patches in West Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, southern Africa (notably South Africa), and Madagascar. Southwest Asia experiences widespread wind erosion on the Arabian Peninsula and in Iran, while water erosion impacts Turkey, northern Iran, Yemen, and southern Oman. Central Asia faces water erosion in northwestern Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. In South Asia, northwest India deals with wind erosion, whereas water erosion is widespread across India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and parts of Bangladesh. Southeast Asia encounters extensive water erosion in Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia (particularly Borneo and Java). East Asia experiences water erosion in large parts of eastern China and wind erosion in northern China, eastern Mongolia, and various areas in western China. In Oceania, small areas of water erosion are found in eastern and western Australia, Vanuatu, and New Zealand’s North Island.

Display by:	Rural Ethnic European Settlements	Soil Erosion
	Rural Ethnic European Settlements	Wind erosion	Water erosion
Arizona		4.22%
Utah		0.308%
Idaho			3.94%
Washington			36.9%
Wyoming		6.47%	2.84%
Montana	1	17.8%
North Dakota	6	95.1%	0.109%
Kentucky			5.48%
Virginia			7.05%
Saskatchewan	7	12.1%
Mississippi			21.9%
West Virginia			11.5%
Nebraska	3	0.826%	52.2%
Texas		23.3%	0.427%
Missouri	1		60.6%
Louisiana			1.69%
Hawaii			57.1%
Oregon			5.56%
Alabama			7.26%
New Mexico		67.8%
Kansas	3	12.3%	62.5%
Wisconsin	7		43.5%
Michigan	10		1.12%
Alberta	4	4.93%
Pennsylvania			25.9%
Colorado		30.2%	6.74%
Nevada		11.8%
Maryland			5.23%
Manitoba	6	6.10%
Oklahoma		29.4%	17.9%
Tennessee			12.6%
Ontario			2.00%
California		19.7%	24.3%
Arkansas			4.12%
South Dakota	3	48.9%	18.4%
Ohio			4.56%
Indiana			12.0%
Minnesota	7	9.96%	35.6%
Iowa	4		100%
Illinois	2		84.6%