South Dakota
South Dakota Facts Maps
Photo: South Dakota
The great granite likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln stare impassively at South Dakota's Black Hills.
Photograph by James Randklev/Getty Images
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South Dakota Information and History

Ranchers raise cattle and sheep on the Great Plains west of the Missouri. East of the river farmers grow corn and other grains. Sioux Falls, with 130,491 people, is the state's largest city. The Black Hills, spiritual homeland of the Sioux, contain one of North America's largest gold mines, the Homestake. Rapid City, once the gateway to mining camps, now channels tourists to Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park, which protects a publicly owned herd of 1,500 buffalo.

ECONOMY

Industry: finance, services, manufacturing, government, retail trade, transportation and utilities, wholesale trade, construction, mining.
Agriculture: cattle, corn, soybeans, wheat, hogs, hay, dairy products.

Text source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004
South Dakota Flag and Fast Facts
Flag of South Dakota
Area
199,731 square kilometers
(77,117 square miles)
Population
764,309
Capital
Pierre; 14,012
Per Capita Income
U.S. $26,694
Date Statehood Achieved
November 2, 1889
South Dakota Features
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Join a team of intrepid adventurers as they stalk the funnel clouds that rip through America's heartland.
Photo: Statue of Crazy Horse, Black Hills, South Dakota
Hit the open road to see America's most beautiful and sometimes bizarre destinations, including a sculpture of Crazy Horse in the making.
Map: South Dakota
State: South Dakota
Country: United States
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