South Dakota Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
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| State nickname: The Mount Rushmore State | |||||
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Other U.S. States | |||||
| Capital | Pierre | ||||
| Largest City | Sioux Falls | ||||
| Governor | Mike Rounds | ||||
| Area - Total - Land - Water - % water |
Ranked 17th 199,905 kmē 196,735 kmē 3,173 kmē 1.6% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2000) - Density |
Ranked 46th
754,844 3.8/kmē | ||||
| Admittance into Union
- Order - Date | 40th November 2, 1889 | ||||
| Time zone |
Central: UTC-6/-5 Mountain: UTC-7/-6 Eastern SD in Central, Western SD in Mountain | ||||
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Latitude Longitude |
42°29'30"N to 45°56'N 98°28'33"W to 104°3'W | ||||
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Width Length Elevation -Highest -Mean -Lowest |
340 km 610 km 2,207 meters 670 meters 294 meters | ||||
| ISO 3166-2: | US-SD | ||||
South Dakota is a state in the high plains of the northern Middle West. It is named after the Lakota (Sioux) American Indian tribe. South Dakota was admitted to the Union on November 2, 1889. North Dakota was admitted on the same day (see Trivia, below).
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.
USS South Dakota was named in honor of this state.
The state is divided into 66 counties; see: List of South Dakota counties.
| Table of contents |
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2 Important cities 3 Other features 4 Colleges and universities 5 Trivia 6 Demographics 7 External links |
Official state objects
Important cities
See List of South Dakota counties, Governors of South Dakota
South Dakota license plates are numbered by county, with the first digit referring to the county of origin. Such a numbering system allows one to easily determine where the vehicle was registered. Counties 1-10 are ranked, roughly, by population. 11-67 are numbered alphabetically.
South Dakota is the only state in the United States that does not offer a state-sponsored college tuition program.
Harney Peak, in the Black Hills, is the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and the French Alps. More than 70,000 people hike to its 7,242 foot summit each year.
The deepest mine in the United States, the Homestake gold mine (now defunct), is in the Black Hills of South Dakota, near the town of Lead. Its shaft plunges more than 8,000 feet beneath the surface. From 1969 until 1993, it was home to the Homestake Chlorine Solar Neutrino Experiment, famous for detecting the solar neutrino problem. Currently there is pending legislation that would give the mine to the National Science Foundation for use as an underground research laboratory.
South Dakota is home to the largest indoor, naturally heated, swimming pool in the world. Evans Plunge, heated from natural mineral springs, is in Hot Springs.
The Black Hills of South Dakota was one of the sites considered for the permanent home of the United Nations.
The largest and most complete fossil of Tyrannosaurus rex ever found was uncovered near the city of Faith, in 1990. Named "Sue," the remains are over 90 percent complete.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2003, South Dakota's population was estimated at 764,309 people. The population density is 9.9 people per square mile.
The racial makeup of the state is:
The 5 largest religions in South Dakota are Lutheran (28%), Roman Catholic (25%), Methodist (13%), Presbyterian (4%), Baptist (4%). 8% of the population is nonreligious.
6.8% of South Dakota's population were reported as under 5, 26.8% under 18, and 14.3% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.4% of the population.
The median income for a household in the state is $35,282. The per capita income for the state is $17,562. 13.2% of the population is below the poverty line.Other features
See: List of South Dakota riversColleges and universities
Trivia
A bill for statehood for North and South Dakota (and Montana, and Washington)
was passed on February 22 1889 during the Administration of Grover Cleveland.
It was left to his successor Benjamin Harrison to
sign proclamations formally admitting North and South
Dakota to the Union on November 2 1889. However, the rivalry
between the northern and southern territories
presented a dilemma: only one, upon the President's
signature on the proclamation, could gain the distinction
of being admitted before the other. So Harrison directed
his Secretary of State James Blaine to shuffle
the papers and obscure from him which he was signing
first, and the priority went unrecorded.Demographics
The 5 largest ancestry groups in South Dakota are German (40.7%), Norwegian (15.3%), Irish (10.4%), American Indian (8.3%), English (7.1%).