North Dakota is a Midwestern state in the United States. It is the northernmost of the Great Plains states and is the northern half of The Dakotas. During the 19th century, North Dakota was considered part of the Wild West. Formerly part of Dakota Territory (named after the Dakota tribe of Native Americans), North Dakota became the 39th state in 1889.
Beulah Bismarck Bowman Devils Lake Dickinson Fargo Grafton Grand Forks Hankinson Jamestown Mandan Mayville Minot Rugby Valley City Wahpeton West Fargo Williston
The Missouri River flows through the western part of the state and forms Lake Sakakawea behind the Garrison Dam. The western half of the state is hilly and is home to natural resources including lignite coal and crude oil. In the east, the Red River of the North forms the Red River Valley. This region has rich farmland. Agriculture has long dominated the economy and culture of North Dakota.
The state capital is Bismarck. The largest city in the state is Fargo. Large public universities are located at Grand Forks and Fargo. The United States Air Force operates bases at both Minot and Grand Forks.
North Dakota is bordered on the north by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, on the west by Montana, on the south by South Dakota, and on the east — across the Red River of the North and the Bois de Sioux River — by Minnesota.
Western North Dakota is home to the hilly Great Plains and the Badlands. This area contains White Butte, the highest point in the state, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. This region is also home to several natural resources including crude oil and lignite coal. The Missouri River flows through western North Dakota and forms Lake Sakakawea, the third largest man-made lake in the United States, behind the Garrison Dam.
Central North Dakota is home to the Drift Prairie and the Missouri Plateau. This area is covered in lakes, stream valleys, and rolling hills. The Turtle Mountains can be found in the Drift Prairie area near the Canadian border. The geographic center of the North American continent is located near the city of Rugby.
Eastern North Dakota is home to the flat Red River Valley which is formed by the meadering Red River of the North, a river which — unlike most rivers — flows towards the north. The Red River Valley was once the bottom of Lake Agassiz. Today, it is very fertile agricultural land. Farms and small towns dot the landscape of eastern North Dakota. Devil's Lake, the largest natural lake in the state, is also found in the east.
There are 53 counties within North Dakota. Every incorporated place in the state of North Dakota is classified as a city. There are no villages, towns, or hamlets.
Areas under management of the National Park Service include:
* Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site near Williston * Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site near Stanton * Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail * North Country National Scenic Trail * Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora and Watford City
As most residents of North Dakota are descendants of Scandinavian and German immigrants, North Dakotans are sometimes stereotyped similarily as Minnesotans. Stereotypical traits include Lutheranism (35 percent of the state's population is Lutheran) "Minnesota nice," "hot dish" (a Midwestern term for casserole),"lutefisk" (a pungent preparation of fish from Scandinavian recipes that include soaking in lye), very close family ties (and a strong sense of duty to their families, healthy and dysfunctional alike), a strong sense of community and shared culture with many other North Dakotans instead of just with one's town or city, North Dakota often shares Minnesota's form of Upper Midwest American English (including Scandinavian-sounding words like "uff-da"), and a distinctive type of upper Midwestern accent.
Along with having the most churches per capita of any state, North Dakota has the highest percentage of church-going population of any state.
Native American traditions are still practiced by the Native American population of North Dakota, especially on Indian reservation land. Pow-wows and traditional Native American dancing are still found across the state.
Outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing are major parts of lives of many North Dakotans. Ice fishing is also popular during the winter months. Residents of eastern North Dakota, specifically the Red River Valley, may own or visit a cabin along a lake in neighboring Minnesota. Weekend trips to Minnesota cabins is common during the summer months. Residents of other regions of North Dakota often go to resorts on North Dakota lakes, as cabins are less common than in Minnesota. Popular sport fish are walleye, perch, and northern pike. The mosquito is an annoyance in North Dakota as well as neighboring states during the summer months.
Prior to European contact, Native Americans inhabited North Dakota for thousands of years. The first European to reach the area was the French-Canadian trader La Vérendrye, who led an exploration party to Mandan villages about 1738.
The trading arrangement between tribes was such that North Dakota tribes rarely dealt directly with Europeans. However, the native tribes were in sufficient contact that by the time of Lewis and Clark; they were at least somewhat aware of the French, then Spanish claims to their territory.
The state was settled sparsely until the late 1800s, when the railroads pushed through the state, and aggressively marketed the land. On 2 November 1889, North Dakota was admitted to the Union with South Dakota.
The territorial and early state governments were largely corrupt. Early in the 20th century, a wave of populism led by the Non Partisan League brought social reforms. The Great Depression was particularly hard on the state and came several years early with the 1920s farm crisis. The original North Dakota Capitol burned to the ground in the 1930s and was replaced by a limestone faced art deco skyscraper that still stands today.
The 1950s brought a round of federal construction projects, including the Garrison Dam and the Minot and Grand Forks Air Force bases. There was an oil boom in the Williston basin in the 1980s, as skyrocketing petroleum prices made development profitable, driving state population to a peak near 700,000. Since then the state has been experiencing a period of economic and demographic decline. Today, the population stands at around 640,000 (roughly the same population as in the 1920s).
The major east-west highways are US 2 and Interstate 94. North Dakota Highways 5 and 200 are also significant east-west routes.
The major north-south highways are Interstate 29, US 81, US 281, US 83, and US 85.
US 52 runs northwest-southeast from Portal to Jamestown, then to Fargo via I-94. US 12 cuts across the southwest corner of the state, intersecting US 85 in Bowman.
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BNSF and the Canadian Pacific Railway operate the most extensive rail systems in the state. Minor lines include the Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad and the Red River Valley and Western Railroad, mostly operating on leased branch lines BNSF and CP were to abandon.
North Dakota has 90 public airports. Scheduled passenger airline service is offered in Bismarck, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Minot, and Williston.
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* North Dakota is a prime example of a continental climate — it is distant from major bodies of water that would otherwise serve to moderate the weather. Because of this, the climate of North Dakota can range from sweltering heat and humidity to bitter cold. Competing warm air masses from the Gulf of Mexico and cold air masses from the Arctic regions often produce strong winds as they move in and out of the region.
In the summer, the clash of arctic and tropic systems often leads to strong thunderstorms, sometimes including damaging hail and tornadoes. In the winter, the weather tends to be more stable — cold and dry, with occasional flurries — though the constant wind can create blowing snow at any time of the season. Severe snowstorms — some of which are classified as blizzards — tend to manifest late in the fall or early in the spring.
Springtime flooding is a relatively common event in the extremely flat Red River Valley. The best known and most destructive flood in eastern North Dakota was the Flood of 1997. This flood devastated much of the Red River Valley and caused unprecedented damage in the city of Grand Forks.
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* This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the Source wikipedia.
