North Dakota: The Peace Garden State

North Dakota: The Peace Garden State — page 1 — INTRODUCTION The seemingly endless prairies of North Dakota provide the state’s residents with more than enough room to stretch out And with a crime rate among the lowest in the nation the people enjoy more peace of mind than most of their fellow Americans The fields of North Dakota produce enormous quantities of wheat enough in one year to make more than 100 billion sandwiches Agriculture has long been an important part of the state’s economy In addition to wheat North Dakota’s hardworking farmers also produce great amounts of barley sunflowers flaxseed and beans North Dakota is gaining a reputation as a tourist destination Visitors learn about the state’s rich Native American heritage follow the paths of famous explorers and enjoy themselves at beautiful state parks Fort Abraham Lincoln was where General George A Custer commanded the 7th Cavalry before they rode out to encounter the Sioux and the Cheyenne at the Little Bighorn River 4 NORTH DAKOTA Farmland covers about 39 million acres of North Dakota The state song the North Dakota Hymn was first performed in public in 1927 It was officially adopted 20 years later The state seal contains 42 stars one for every state in the Union as of 1889 the year when North Dakota South Dakota Montana and Washington were admitted The state flag was adopted in 1911 It shows a bald eagle holding seven arrows in one talon and an olive branch with three red berries in the other

North Dakota: The Peace Garden State — page 2 — More than 86,000 miles of roads and highways crisscross North Dakota Teredo petrified wood is the state fossil The state motto is Liberty and Union Now and Forever One and Inseparable North Dakota is the 17th largest state in the country It covers 70,704 square miles of land North Dakota’s state bird is the western meadowlark INTRODUCTION 5 North Dakota is located in the north-central part of the United States It is bordered by Minnesota to the east South Dakota to the south Montana to the west and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan to the north North Dakota sits exactly in the middle of the North American continent A monument near the town of Rugby marks what is believed to be the continent’s geographic center A large number of municipal and private airports serve North Dakota The busiest airport is in Fargo Passenger trains travel across the state and there are several bus lines offering scheduled and chartered services Visitors driving to North Dakota have access to two interstate highways For those travelers heading east or west the main highway is Interstate 94 Interstate 29 is the primary north-south route North Dakota Location Map Capital Bismarck Interstate highways 30 60 48 97 Km Mi Scale 0 0 Population 642,200 Size 70,704 square miles Highest peak White Butte 3,506 feet

North Dakota: The Peace Garden State — page 3 — Native Americans were the first people to inhabit the area now called North Dakota Explorers and fur traders arrived next establishing the first permanent European settlements in the region North Dakota’s geographic isolation has kept the state’s population low throughout its history Today North Dakota still has one of the lowest populations in the country North Dakota was once part of the Dakota Territory This territory also included South Dakota as well as parts of Montana and Wyoming By the time the Dakota Territory became eligible for statehood it was clear that the north and the south had little in common A railroad ran across the territory from east to west and people living in the north rarely interacted with people in the south Each region wanted its own government On Nov 2 1889 North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted to the Union as separate states Lake Sakakawea is named in honor of the Shoshone woman who helped lead Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their journey to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean Her name is also spelled Sacagawea 6 NORTH DAKOTA Bismarck was named in honor of Prince Otto von Bismarck of Germany The name Dakota means allies or friends The term comes from the Dakota people who are a division of the Sioux Bismarck is the state capital The city also served as the capital of the Dakota Territory from 1883 to 1889 The state march is the Flickertail March It was at first called Spirit of the Land until it was discovered that another march had a similar title In 1803 the United States bought the southwest part of what is now North Dakota from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase The northeast part was obtained through a border treaty with Britain in 1818

North Dakota: The Peace Garden State — page 4 — INTRODUCTION 7 North Dakotans are proud of their culture and heritage Many festivals honor pioneer life and the culture of the early European settlers Native Americans celebrate their culture through powwows Many of North Dakota’s residents enjoy fairs theater productions and symphonies Sports such as basketball snowmobiling and fishing are also popular Each one of North Dakota’s many nicknames highlights a different aspect of the state The Sioux State refers to North Dakota’s Native American heritage while the Flickertail State comes from the flickertail squirrel which is common in the state The Roughrider State refers to the First U S Volunteer Cavalry which fought in the Spanish American War under the leadership of former North Medora with its colorful Old West atmosphere draws in many thousands of tourists each year Medora has only about 100 permanent residents Dakotan Theodore Roosevelt The nickname displayed on North Dakota license plates is the Peace Garden State which refers to the International Peace Garden shared with Canada Residents of North Dakota are sometimes called Roughriders after one of the state’s nicknames North Dakota has six state universities The oldest is the University of North Dakota which was founded at Grand Forks in 1883 before the Dakota Territory was divided into North and South Dakota University of North Dakota The International Peace Garden straddles the border with Canada and stands as a symbol of peace between the two countries It covers 888 acres of land in the United States and 1,451 acres of land in Canada

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