South Dakota Geography

Basic Facts

• Geographical Region: Midwest
• Size: 77121 sq.mi., 17th rank overall.
• Admitted to Statehood: November 2, 1889
• Population: 812,383;46th rank overall.
• Capital: Pierre
• Other Major City: Sioux Falls
• Abbreviation: SD

Fun Facts

• Nickname: Mount Rushmore State
• State Flag: Click Here (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Bird: Ring-necked Pheasant (opens window to 50states.com)
• State Flower: Pasque Flower (opens window to 50states.com)

Geographical Description

• The Missouri River cuts through the center of the state.
• The Drift Prairie occupies the land east of the Missouri River. The low hills and lakes formed by glaciers make this land very fertile and great for farming.
• The western two-thirds of the state are covered by the hills, plains, canyons and steep flat-topped hills called buttes of the Great Plains.
• The Black Hills occupy the south west section of the state. This is where Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial are located. These hills are rich in minerals such as copper, gold and silver.

Map: Relief Map of SD

Industry

Electronic manufacturing, food processing, machinery, lumber and wood products, minerals, tourism

Agriculture

Cattle, sheep, hogs, wheat, soybeans, milk, corn, oat, sunflowers, sorghum, flaxseed, barley.

Other Information

Fun Facts:

• The 6,200-foot Mount Rushmore was created in 1927 by sculptor Gutzon Borglum for $1 million. It took him 14 years to create.
• The geographical center of the United States is Belle Fourche, designated in 1959.
• Badlands National Park is home of the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds that are 23 to 25 million years old.
• The most endangered land mammal in North America, the black-footed ferret, has been reintroduced to the wild at Sage Creek Wilderness.
• The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs contains the largest concentration of Columbian and woolly mammoth bones discovered in their natural location in the world.

More Fun Facts: http://www.50states.com/facts/sdakota.htm