North Dakota

State of North Dakota
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):
Motto(s):
Anthem: North Dakota Hymn
Map of the United States with North Dakota highlighted
Country	United States
Before statehood	Dakota Territory
Admitted to the Union	November 2, 1889 (39th or 40th)
Capital	Bismarck
Largest city	Fargo
Largest metro	Fargo metropolitan area
Government
• Governor	Doug Burgum (R)
• Lieutenant Governor	Brent Sanford (R)
Legislature	Legislative Assembly
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
U.S. senators	John Hoeven (R) Kevin Cramer (R)
U.S. House delegation	Kelly Armstrong (R) (list)
Area
• Total	70,761 sq mi (183,843 km2)
• Land	59,708 sq mi (169,571 km2)
• Water	1,726 sq mi (4,435 km2)  2.4%
Area rank	19th
Elevation	1,900 ft (580 m)
Highest elevation (White Butte)	3,606 ft (1,069 m)
Lowest elevation (Red River of the North at Manitoba border)	864 ft (216 m)
Population  (2019)
• Total	762,062
• Rank	47th
• Density	10.73/sq mi (4.13/km2)
• Density rank	47th
• Median household income	$61,843
• Income rank	19th
Language
Time zones
most of state	UTC−06:00 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−05:00 (CDT)
southwest	UTC−07:00 (Mountain)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−06:00 (MDT)
USPS abbreviation	ND
ISO 3166 code	US-ND
Trad. abbreviation	N.D., N.Dak., Nodak
Latitude	45° 56′ N to 49° 00′ N
Longitude	96° 33′ W to 104° 03′ W
Website	nd.gov

North Dakota State symbols
The Flag of North Dakota.
The Seal of North Dakota.
Animate insignia
Bird(s)	Western meadowlark
Fish	Northern pike
Flower(s)	Wild prairie rose
Grass	Western wheatgrass
Insect	Western honeybee
Mammal(s)	Nokota horse
Tree	American Elm
Inanimate insignia
Beverage	Milk
Dance	Square dance Line dance
Fossil	Teredo petrified wood
Other	Chokecherry (state fruit)
Route marker(s)
State Quarter
Released in 2006
Lists of United States state insignia

North Dakota is a state in the United States. 672,591 people lived in North Dakota in the year 2010. The capital and seat of government is Bismarck.

Geography

North Dakota is south of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, east of Montana, north of South Dakota, and west of Minnesota. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are provinces - part of Canada. Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota are other states in the United States.

Weather

North Dakota is not close to any big bodies of water (oceans or seas). Because of this, temperatures in North Dakota are very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. In the summer, there are sometimes strong thunderstorms. These storms can have tornadoes and hail.

History

Statue of Sakakawea (Sacagawea), the Shoshone Native American woman who guided Lewis and Clark when they mapped the Missouri River

Before European people came, Native American people lived in the area now called North Dakota. One important tribe was the Mandan.

North Dakota was one of the last US states to be settled. (To have people go there to make homes and live.) On November 2, 1889, North Dakota (and South Dakota) became part of the United States.

Economy

Most of the economy is based on agriculture. The most important agricultural crops are durum, a type of wheat, which is grown all across the state. In the Red River Valley, there is more rain, and maize (corn) and sugar beets are grown as well. In the Badlands, there is less rain, and more cattle are raised than crops.

North Dakota has the only bank in the United States that is owned by the state. The Bank of North Dakota is where all of the money from all government agencies is held. Most banks in the United States are guaranteed by the FDIC (acronym for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.) The FDIC guarantees that people will not lose money if a bank fails. But the Bank of North Dakota is insured by the state of North Dakota.

Related pages

• Colleges and universities in North Dakota
• List of counties in North Dakota