Originally Posted by Trsnrtr

Second flattest state, next to Florida. I have a lot of steep (12-20%) but short hills along the Illinois River but within a mile of the bluffs, it becomes pretty flat. When the settlers headed west, they actually bypassed this part of the country because they couldn't break the prairie grass sod with wooden plows. Also, because a lot of parts of Illinois are so flat, it tended to be somewhat swampy in places. After the steel plow came into being, the grass was destroyed and the soil was drained.