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<br />c-~ <br /> <br />(.-.' <br /> <br />~ <br />e", <br />tn <br />"'. <br /> <br />portLun nf the area flntt(\Tls in Ilplnnd fnrm l/1no. The' c(!ntTRl por- <br />tion of the area is str(!vm with tailing piles and flr)oded shafts <br />of abandoned lead and zinc mineq. The known economically mined <br />ore deposits from the relatively shallow mincR have spparently <br />been exhausted.. <br /> <br />Urban growth is concentrated in the greater Joplin-Webb City- <br />Cartervil1e area and in the smaller Carthage and Ncosho-Granby <br />areas. The nearl:st metropc)litnn ar0AS are Springfield, Missouri, <br />70 mites to the east; KansBs City, Missouri, 160 miles to the <br />north; Wichita, Kansas, 200 miles to the west; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, <br />110 miles to the southwest. <br /> <br />The area is served by three main line single track railrOAds, <br />two fceder airlines, onc interstate highway and three U. S. <br />highways.. <br /> <br />The area has seen boom and bust economy in the rise Rnd fall <br />of the mining industry and the mor~ recent and shorter-lived Fort <br />Cr~wder military operation. It appears that present industrializa- <br />tiOII will provide a more dependable rise in economic level with <br />agriculture providing a lesser but stable economic base.l <br /> <br />The Southwest Missouri region is characterized by seasonal <br />changes in climate. The area enjoys a "plateau climate.1I Pre- <br />vailing winds are from the south, south~est and usually blow <br />with a velocity of 8-10 miles per hour. <br /> <br />.' <br /> <br />The average <br />month is Janu~ry <br />(79 degrees). <br /> <br />annual temperature is 56 degrees. <br />(31 degrees) and the warmest month <br /> <br />The coldest <br />is July <br /> <br />The total annual average precipitation is 41.08 inches of <br />rainfall includin~ 13.0 inches of snow. The wettest month is <br />March with 5.28 i~ches of precipitation.4 <br /> <br />The average gn.wing season is 192 days. The first killing <br />frost usually occurs about Octoher 23rd and the last kill ing frost <br />in the spring is around April l4th.5 <br /> <br />The area ha.s had numerous tornadoes. <br />successive years with damages in excess of <br /> <br />Joplin was hit in <br />20 million dollars.6 <br /> <br />The Newton-Jasper County area population peaked about 1910 <br />as a result of the lead and einc mine operationa and lost about <br />fourteen percent of its population by 1920. In the forty years <br />since 1920, population growth has totaled only about eight per- <br />cent as compared t,", a state population growth of about twenty- <br />seVen perce~t over the same period.7 Of the 108,956 persons <br />reported in the area by the 1960 census, 79,131, or about <br /> <br />95 <br />