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Stately factsThe United States of America accepted Kansas as the 34th state to enter the union. Below, you will find the official state symbols and interesting facts about Kansas.
State Name:Kansas
Abbreviation:KS
Capital of Kansas State:Topeka
Date of Statehood:January 29, 1861
Kansas State Population:2,744,687 (US Census 2005 estimate)
Primary Agriculture:
A leading wheat-growing state, Kansas also raises corn, sorghums, oats, barley, soybeans, and potatoes.
Primary Industry:
Kansas stands high in petroleum production and mines zinc, coal, salt, and lead. It is also the nation's leading producer of helium. Wichita is one of the nation's leading aircraft-manufacturing centers, ranking first in production of private aircraft.
Kansas State Nickname:The Sunflower State
Kansas State Motto:Ad Astra Per Aspera (To the stars through difficulties.)
Kansas State Flower:Native Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Kansas State Tree:Cottonwood
Kansas State Bird: Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Kansas State Insect: Honey Bee
State Commemorative Quarter:
From the 1999-2008 United States Mint 50 State Quarters® Program
General Kansas State History
Kansas has had a dramatic history, even before it became the 34th state. Historians have reported that Native Americans were living in Kansas as early as 12,000 B.C. They were followed for centuries by many different tribes making the history of Kansas entwined with the first Americans.
Between 1541 and 1739 explorers from Spain and France came to the area in search of gold, knowledge and trade with the Indians. In 1803, Kansas became a part of the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Fifty-one years later it was organized as a territory which included the eastern half of Colorado.
Conflict over slavery led to bloody battles between free-staters (anti-slavery) and pro-slavery forces. This led to the attack on Lawrence by pro-slavery forces and the widespread public outcry associated with "Bleeding Kansas." Kansas became part of the United States as a free state in 1861.
After the Civil War expansion of the rail system to Kansas and the increasing stream of immigrants lured to the state by offers of cheap land, Native Americans were forced into smaller and smaller reservations. Ultimately their removal to Indian Territory forced the final confrontation in the late 1870's that ended the independent life of the Native Americans.
The establishment of military posts to protect the railroads and trails used by immigrants led to the establishment of small towns which followed the posts. By 1870, the Kansas cow towns, following the westward expansion of the railroads, became well established. Such towns as Dodge City, Abilene, Caldwell, Newton and Wichita took their turns as the Queens of the Trail. To this day, the cattle industry remains an important part of the state's economy.
The introduction of Turkey Red Winter Wheat by Mennonites from Russia in 1874 was a milestone in Kansas agriculture. The wheat was ideally suited to the Kansas climate and has made Kansas one of the leading wheat-producing states in the nation.
The 20th century brought mining, oil production, the discovery of natural gas and helium, the meatpacking industry, automobile manufacturing and the aircraft industry. In this century Kansas has changed from being primarily a cattle and wheat state to a thriving industrial and agricultural state. As the center of the 48 contiguous states, Kansas has proven to be an attractive location for many companies serving national and international markets.
Fun Facts
1.The first woman mayor. In 1887, Mrs. Medora Salter become the first woman mayor in the world, a full 33 years before women even got the right to vote in America.
2."The scourge of barrooms and bootleggers." In the 1890's Carry Amelia Nation, American anti-alcohol advocate, used a hatchet to make her point. Dressed in black and white she entered barrooms singing and swinging. Alone, or with other women, she would go into bars singing hymns while smashing her hatchet against bar taps and supplies.
3.Patrick Henry in Petticoats." Also in the 1890s, Mary Elizabeth ("Mary Yellin") Lease was called "the Kansas Pythoness" because of her biting attacks on the ruthless capitalists of the day. Her speeches were known to be so eloquent some called her "Patrick Henry in Petticoats." She was relentless in her whipping up the crowd against moneyed aristocracy and a government, "of Wall Street, by Wall Street and for Wall Street." In one year alone (1890) she made almost 200 speeches.
4."Lady Lindy." That's what they called her. In 1932 the Kansas-born aviatrix, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic -- only five years after Charles Lindbergh. It took Lindbergh 33 -1/2 hours; it took Earhart 15 hours and 39 minutes.
National parks and historic sites
Areas under the protection of the National Park Service include:
Brown v. Board Of Education National Historic Site in Topeka
California National Historic Trail
Fort Larned National Historic Site in Larned
Fort Scott National Historic Site
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Nicodemus National Historic Site at Nicodemus
Oregon National Historic Trail
Pony Express National Historic Trail
Santa Fe National Historic Trail
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City
Joyland Amusement Park (Wichita)
Joyland Amusement Park opened in Wichita, Kansas, United States on June 12, 1949, and was in continuous operation until 2003. Since 2003 the park has been opened only for a single season and is currently closed. It had been the largest theme park in central Kansas and has a wooden roller coaster.
Geography
Kansas is bordered by Nebraska on the north; Missouri on the east; Oklahoma on the south; and Colorado on the west. The state is divided into 105 counties with 628 cities, and is located equidistant from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The geographic center of the 48 contiguous states is located in Smith County near Lebanon. The geodetic center of North America was located in Osborne County until 1983. This spot was used until that date as the central reference point for all maps of North America produced by the U.S. government. The geographic center of Kansas is located in Barton County.
Rivers
The Missouri River forms nearly 75 mi (121 km) of the state's northeastern boundary. The Kansas River (locally known as the Kaw), formed by the junction of the Smoky Hill and Republican rivers at appropriately-named Junction City, joins the Missouri at Kansas City, after a course of 170 mi (270 km) across the northeastern part of the state. The Arkansas River (pronunciation varies), rising in Colorado, flows with a bending course for nearly 500 mi (800 km) across the western and southern parts of the state. It forms, with its tributaries (the Little Arkansas, Ninnescah, Walnut, Cow Creek, Cimarron, Verdigris, and the Neosho), the southern drainage system of the state. Other important rivers are the Saline and Solomon Rivers, tributaries of the Smoky Hill River; the Big Blue, Delaware, and Wakarusa, which flow into the Kansas River; and the Marais des Cygnes, a tributary of the Missouri River.
Climate
Kansas contains three climatic types, according to the Köppen climate classification: humid continental, semi-arid steppe, and humid subtropical. The eastern two-thirds of the state (especially the northeastern portion) has a humid continental climate, with cool to cold winters and hot, often humid summers. Most of the precipitation falls in the summer and spring. The western third of the state – from about the U.S. Route 183 corridor westward – has a semiarid steppe climate. Summers are hot, often very hot, and generally less humid. Winters are highly changeable between warm and very cold. The western region receives an average of about 16 inches (40 cm) of precipitation per year. Chinook winds in the winter can warm western Kansas all the way into the 80°F (27°C) range. The far south-central and southeastern reaches of the state have a humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers, milder winters and more precipitation than the rest of the state. Although not strictly falling in all of the zones, some features of all three climates can be found in most of the state, with droughts and changeable weather between dry and humid not uncommon, and both warm and cold spells in the winter.
Precipitation ranges from about 46 inches (1200 mm) annually in the southeast of the state, to about 16 inches (400 mm) in the southwest. Snowfall ranges from around 5 inches (130 mm) in the fringes of the south, to 35 inches (900 mm) in the far northwest. Frost-free days range from more than 200 days in the south, to 130 days in the northwest. Thus, Kansas is the 9th or 10th sunniest state in the country, depending on the source. Western Kansas is as sunny as California and Arizona.
In spite of the frequent sunshine throughout much of the state, due to its location at a climatic boundary prone to multiple air masses, the state is also vulnerable to strong thunderstorms, especially in the spring. Many of these storms become Supercell thunderstorms. These can spawn tornadoes, often of F3 strength or higher. According to statistics from the National Climatic Data Center, Kansas has reported more tornadoes (for the period 1 January 1950 through 31 October 2006) than any state except for Texas – marginally even more than Oklahoma. It has also – along with Alabama – reported more F5 tornadoes than any other state. These are the most powerful of all tornadoes. Kansas averages over 50 tornadoes annually.[15]
According to NOAA, the all-time highest temperature recorded in Kansas is 121°F (49.4°C) on July 24, 1936, near Alton, and the all-time low is −40°F (−40°C) on February 13, 1905, near Lebanon.
Kansas's record high of 121°F (49.4°C) ties with North Dakota for the fifth-highest record high in an American state, behind California (134°F/56.7°C), Arizona (128°F/53.3°C), Nevada (125°F/51.7°C), and New Mexico (122°F/50°C).
