Everything About South Dakota, The Coyote State

Overview:

South Dakota, nicknamed the state of Mount Rushmore or the Coyote, is located in the western, north and central regions of the United States. With Pierre as its capital, it is the sixteenth largest state among all states of USA. South Dakota was initially the southern portion of the Dakota Territory. The work 'Dakota' means “friends”.

South Dakota is basically a north-west-central state which is bordered by Iowa and Minnesota in the east, North Dakota on the north, Nebraska in the south and Wyoming and Montana on the west. Through the centre of this state, the Missouri river flows. The western region of the state is comprised of the portions of the Great Plains. The eastern regions of South Dakota are very similar to the Midwest. It consists of huge lakes and farmlands, made by very old glaciers and hills. The south-western regions of South Dakota consist of the Badlands. Badlands are basically deep gullies and steep hills that are made by the erosion of water. This state also has prairies and grasslands.

The population of this state consists of people of various ethnic groups. The total population is 7 million. Eight percent of the total population consists of American Indians. On the other hand, 0.8% of the total population are black, 0.7% is Asian, and 1.4% is Latinos and Hispanics. The remaining 1.2% consists of other races.

Key Highlights of South Dakota:

• Brief History:

Francois Verendrye and Louis-Joseph from France started exploring South Dakota from the year 1743. In 1803, the United States acquired this region as a portion of the Louisiana Purchase. It was then explored in 1804 to 1806 by Clark and Louis. The first settlement, Fort Pierre, was made in the year 1817. In 1873, after the railroad arrived, the settlement began in earnest. In 1874, gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874.

• What to see:

Tourism is one of the essential parts of the economy of South Dakota. The growth of Tourism industry has led to the creation of income and new jobs. The Black hills, which consists of Mount Rushmore, is one of the most famous places for the tourists in the country. One of the largest sculptures of the globe, Mount Rushmore, consists of the carving of the faces of Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington in the mountain's face. An extremely large sculpture of a famous Indian Chief, known as Crazy Horse, is now being made in the Black Hills, near the Custer Town. This sculpture will be much larger than Mount Rushmore. Another place is Badlands National Park. One can see various spectacular formations made of rock like ridges, pinnacles, canyons and spires.

• Education:

South Dakota consists of many colleges and universities for higher studies. Among them, University of South Dakota is the largest private and non-profit university. Another university, called Globe University is a for-profit university is the smallest university. There is only one law school in South Dakota. It is known as University of South Dakota Law School. Similarly, there is only one medical school. Although, there is less number of universities, every one of them present provides top quality education to its students.

Military details:

In Meade and Pennington counties near Rapid City in South Dakota, Ellsworth Air Force Base is located. This base was established in 1942 and is presently housing 28th Bomb Wing. It is used to target enemy lines. The main mission of this base is to make sure that fighter pilots are ready for any emergency situations like battles and other global situations. The air base is named after Richard E. Ellsworth, who was a Brigadier general. He died a heroic death; his plane collided with the ground in 1953, during training. This air force base was initially called Showplace of Strategic Air Command because of its capabilities of ICBM and strategic bombardment. The bomb wing present in the base currently is a part of aupersonic bombers of the US Air Force. It houses eight thousand families and military personnel. The base also consists of dormitories for people living in the base. It has a school for children living in base, called Douglas Public School. Outdoor recreational facilities like water skiing, fishing, camping, boating and hunting are also available.