South Dakota
South Dakota is a state in North America. South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. Its capital is Pierre and most populous is Sioux Falls. Other important cities are Rapid City, Sturgis and Aberdeen. Famous attractions include Mount Rushmore, the Black Hills, Crazy Horse mountain sculpture, The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and the Corn Palace. About 890,000 people lived there in 2020.
State of South Dakota | |
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Anthem: Hail, South Dakota! | |
Country | United States |
Before statehood | Dakota Territory |
Admitted to the Union | November 2, 1889 (39th or 40th) |
Capital | Pierre |
Largest city | Sioux Falls |
Largest metro | Sioux Falls metropolitan area |
Government | |
• Governor | Kristi Noem (R) |
• Lieutenant Governor | Larry Rhoden (R) |
Legislature | South Dakota Legislature |
• Upper house | Senate |
• Lower house | House of Representatives |
U.S. senators | John Thune (R) Mike Rounds (R) |
U.S. House delegation | Dusty Johnson (R) (list) |
Area | |
• Total | 77,116 sq mi (199,729 km2) |
• Land | 75,811 sq mi (196,350 km2) |
• Water | 1,305 sq mi (3,379 km2) 1.7% |
• Rank | 17th |
Elevation | 2,200 ft (670 m) |
Highest elevation | 7,244 ft (2,208 m) |
Lowest elevation | 968 ft (295 m) |
Population (2019) | |
• Total | 884,659 |
• Rank | 46th |
• Density | 11.44/sq mi (4.42/km2) |
• Rank | 46th |
• Median household income | $56,521[4] |
• Income rank | 30th |
Language | |
• Official language | English[5] • Sioux[6] |
Time zones | |
eastern half | UTC−06:00 (Central) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−05:00 (CDT) |
western half | UTC−07:00 (Mountain) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−06:00 (MDT) |
USPS abbreviation | SD |
ISO 3166 code | US-SD |
Trad. abbreviation | S.D., S.Dak. |
Latitude | 42°29′ N to 45°56′ N |
Longitude | 96°26′ W to 104°03′ W |
Website | sd |
South Dakota state symbols | |
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Living insignia | |
Bird | Ring-necked pheasant |
Fish | Walleye |
Flower | American Pasque flower |
Grass | Western wheat grass |
Insect | Western honeybee |
Mammal | Coyote |
Tree | Black Hills Spruce |
Inanimate insignia | |
Beverage | Milk |
Dance | Square dance |
Fossil | Triceratops |
Gemstone | Fairburn agate |
Rock | Rose quartz |
Soil | Houdek |
Other | Kuchen (state dessert) |
State route marker | |
Lists of United States state symbols |
South Dakota is bordered to the north by North Dakota, to the south by Nebraska, to the east by Iowa and Minnesota, and to the west by Wyoming and Montana.
There are nine Native American tribes that live in South Dakota.
Most of South Dakota's land was bought in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. South Dakota and North Dakota both became states in 1889.[7]
Many Democrats have represented South Dakota in Congress. However, most politicians in South Dakota are Republicans. More than 90% of the state legislature are Republicans.[8]
Cities and towns
Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota. In 2020, 192,517 people lived there.[9] 281,958 people live in its metro area.[10] The city was founded in 1856. It is in the southeast corner of the state.[11] When the city was first founded, the economy was mostly agribusiness and quarrying. Today, retail, finance, and healthcare are most important to the city's economy.[12]
Towns
Rapid City is the second-largest city in South Dakota. 74,703 lived there in 2020.[9]144,558 people live in its metro area.[10] It is located in the Black Hills, and was founded in 1876.[13] The biggest part of the city's economy is government services. The biggest employers include Ellsworth Air Force Base, the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and the Indian Health Service.[14] Tourism is also a big part of Rapid City's economy.[14] It is close to Mount Rushmore, Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and Deadwood, and other attractions
2022 rank | City | County | Population in 2020[15] |
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1 | Sioux Falls | Minnehaha Lincoln |
192,517 |
2 | Rapid City | Pennington | 74,703 |
3 | Aberdeen | Brown | 28,495 |
4 | Brookings | Brookings | 23,377 |
5 | Watertown | Codington | 22,655 |
6 | Mitchell | Davison | 15,660 |
7 | Yankton | Yankton | 15,411 |
8 | Huron | Beadle | 14,263 |
9 | Pierre (the capital) |
Hughes | 14,091 |
10 | Spearfish | Lawrence | 12,193 |
South Dakota Media
Deadwood, like many other Black Hills towns, was founded after the discovery of gold.
A South Dakota farm during the Dust Bowl, 1936. Normal tilling practices turn South Dakota's fragile soil into a fine, loose powder that blows away, and sometimes covered vehicles, equipment, and buildings with dust during the Dust Bowl.
The Black Hills, a low mountain range, is located in Southwestern South Dakota.
Much of western South Dakota features buttes.
Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills
Related pages
References
- ↑ "Black Elk Peak". NGS data sheet. U.S. National Geodetic Survey. http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=OT0810. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Elevations and Distances in the United States". United States Geological Survey. 2001. Archived from the original on November 9, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Elevation adjusted to North American Vertical Datum of 1988.
- ↑ "Median Annual Household Income". The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
- ↑ "South Dakota Codified Laws (1–27–20)". South Dakota State Legislature. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
- ↑ "South Dakota recognizes official indigenous language". Argus Leader. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
- ↑ "Stats for Stories: South Dakota 130th Anniversary (40th state): November 2, 2019". United States Census Bereau. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ↑ "2023 Legislator Listing". sdlegislature.gov. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 South Dakota. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/census/profile/sd. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area population and estimated components of change: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2009". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- ↑ "History of Sioux Falls". City of Sioux Falls. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
- ↑ Thompson (ed.), p. 554.
- ↑ Hasselstrom, p. 331.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Rapid City: Economy". City-Data.com. Retrieved October 16, 2008.
- ↑ "2020 Census Results". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
Other websites
- The Official Home Page of South Dakota Archived 2007-07-26 at the Wayback Machine