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 South Dakota
South Dakota is one of the great states that make up the United States of America.
The United States of America accepted South Dakota as the 40th state to enter the union.

State Name:South Dakota

Abbreviation:SD

Capital of South Dakota State:Pierre

Date of Statehood:November 2, 1889

 State Population:775,933 (US Census 2005 estimate)

Primary Agriculture:
South Dakota leads the nation in the production of hay and oats, and ranks second among the states in the production of rye, flaxseed, and sunflower seed.

Primary Industry:
South Dakota is the nation's second leading producer of gold and the Homestake Mine is the richest in the U.S. Other minerals produced include berylium, bentonite, granite, silver, and uranium. Durable-goods manufacturing and private services have evolved as the drivers of the economy.

 State Nickname:Mount Rushmore State

 State Motto:Under God the people rule.

 State Flower:American Pasque (Pulsatilla hirsutissima)

 State Tree:Black Hills Spruce (Legislation of 1947)

South Dakota State Bird:Ring Necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

 State Fish:Walleye

South Dakota State Insect:Honey Bee

South Dakota State Gemstone:Fairburn Agate

Official State Seal:

South Dakota State Location

South Dakota can generally be divided into three regions: eastern South Dakota, western South Dakota, and the Black Hills. The Missouri River serves as a boundary in terms of geographic, social and political differences between eastern and western South Dakota, and the geography of the Black Hills differs from its surroundings to such an extent that it can be considered separate from the rest of western South Dakota. South Dakotans also at times combine the Black Hills with the rest of western South Dakota, and refer to the two resulting regions, divided by the Missouri, as West River and East River.

Climate

South Dakota has a continental climate with four distinct seasons, ranging from very cold, dry winters to hot and semi-humid summers. During the summers, the average high temperature throughout the state is often close to 90 °F (32 °C), although it generally cools down to near 60 °F (15 °C) at night. It is not unusual for South Dakota to have severe hot, dry spells in the summer with the temperature climbing above 100 °F (38 °C) several times every year.Winters are cold with January high temperatures averaging below freezing and low temperatures averaging below 10 °F (- 12 °C) in most of the state.
Average annual precipitation in South Dakota ranges from semi-arid conditions in the northwestern part of the state (around 15 inches, or 381 mm) to semi-humid around the southeast portion of the state (around 25 inches, or 635 mm), although a small area centered on Lead in the Black Hills has the highest precipitation at nearly 30 inches (762 mm) per year.
South Dakota summers bring frequent, sometimes severe, thunderstorms with high winds, thunder, and hail. The eastern part of the state is often considered part of Tornado Alley, and South Dakota experiences an average of 29 tornadoes per year. Severe weather in the form of blizzards and ice storms occur often during winter.
Monthly normal high and low temperatures for various South Dakota cities in degrees Fahrenheit (and Celsius)
City
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Aberdeen
21/1 (−6/-17)
28/9 (−2/-13)
40/21 (4/-6)
57/33 (14/1)
70/46 (21/8)
79/55 (26/13)
85/60 (29/16)
84/57 (29/14)
73/46 (23/8)
59/34 (15/1)
39/20 (4/-7)
26/6 (−3/-14)
Rapid City
34/11 (1/-12)
39/16 (4/-9)
47/23 (8/-5)
57/32 (13/0)
67/43 (19/6)
77/52 (25/11)
86/58 (30/14)
86/57 (30/14)
75/46 (24/8)
62/35 (17/2)
45/22 (7/-6)
36/13 (2/-11)
Sioux Falls
25/3 (−4/-16)
32/10 (0/-12)
44/21 (7/-6)
59/32 (15/0)
71/45 (22/7)
81/54 (27/12)
86/60 (30/16)
83/58 (28/14)
74/48 (23/9)
61/35 (16/2)
42/21 (6/-6)
29/8 (−2/-13)


National Parks and Monuments


Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills
South Dakota contains several sites that are administered by the National Park Service. Two national parks have been established in South Dakota, both located in the southwestern part of the state. Wind Cave National Park, established in 1903 in the Black Hills, contains an extensive cave network as well as a large herd of bison. Badlands National Park was created in 1978. The park features a highly eroded, brightly colored landscape surrounded by semi-arid grasslands. Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills was established in 1925. The sculpture of four U.S. Presidents was carved into the mountainside by sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Other areas managed by the National Park Service include Jewel Cave National Monument near Custer, the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, which features a decommissioned nuclear missile silo and a separate missile control area located several miles away, and the Missouri National Recreational River. The Crazy Horse Memorial is a large mountainside sculpture near Mt. Rushmore that is being constructed with private funds. 

History.

Humans have lived in what is today South Dakota for at least several thousand years. The first inhabitants were Paleolithic hunter-gatherers, and disappeared from the area around 5000 BC. Between 500 AD and 800 AD, a semi-nomadic people known as the Mound Builders lived in central and eastern South Dakota. In the 14th century, the Crow Creek Massacre occurred, in which several hundred men, women, and children were killed near the Missouri River. By 1500 the Arikara (or Ree) had settled in much of the Missouri River valley. European contact with the area began in 1743, when the LaVerendrye brothers explored the region. The LaVerendrye group buried a plate near the site of modern day Pierre, claiming the region for France as part of greater Louisiana. By the early 19th century, the Sioux had largely replaced the Arikara as the dominant group in the area.
In 1803, the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory, an area that included most of South Dakota, from Napoleon Bonaparte, and President Thomas Jefferson organized a group commonly referred to as the "Lewis and Clark Expedition" to explore the newly acquired region. In 1817, an American fur trading post was set up at present-day Fort Pierre, beginning continuous American settlement of the area. In 1855, the U.S. Army bought Fort Pierre but abandoned it the following year in favor of Fort Randall to the south. Settlement by Americans and Europeans was by this time increasing rapidly, and in 1858 the Yankton Sioux signed the 1858 Treaty, ceding most of present-day eastern South Dakota to the United States.

Religion

The largest denominations by number of adherents in 2000 were the Roman Catholic Church with 181,434 members; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with 121,871 members; and the United Methodist Church (UMC) with 37,280 members. (Both the ELCA and UMC are specific denominations within the broader terms 'Lutheran' and 'Methodist', respectively.) The results of a 2001 survey, in which South Dakotans were asked to identify their religion, include:

Famous places:
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
The four 60-foot granite faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theordore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln-America's Shrine to Democracy- gaze over South Dakota's Black Hills.

Education:
South Dakota State University (SDSU), in Brookings, is the largest university in the state, with an enrollment of 12,376. The University of South Dakota (USD), in Vermillion, is the state's oldest university, and has South Dakota's only law school and medical school. South Dakota also has several private universities, the largest of which is Augustana College in Sioux Falls.


Cultural Heritage Center
Located in Peirre it showcases South Dakota history, from American Indian culture to the coming of the poineers. An extensive collection tells the story of the Great Sioux Nation.

Ecology

A pronghorn in Wind Cave National Park
Much of South Dakota, not including the Black Hills, is dominated by a temperate grasslands biome. Although grasses and crops cover most of this region, deciduous trees such as cottonwoods, elms, and willows are common near rivers and in shelter belts. Mammals in this area include bison, deer, pronghorn, coyotes, and prairie dogs. The state bird, the ring-necked pheasant, has adapted particularly well to the area after being introduced from China, and growing populations of bald eagles are spread throughout the state, especially near the Missouri River. Rivers and lakes of the grasslands support populations of walleye, carp, pike, and bass, along with other species. The Missouri River also contains the pre-historic paddlefish.
Because of higher elevation and precipitation, the ecology of the Black Hills differs significantly from that of the plains. The mountains are thickly blanketed by various types of pines, including ponderosa and lodgepole pines, as well as spruces. Black Hills mammals include deer, elk (wapiti), bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and mountain lions, while the streams and lakes contain several species of trout.
Dakota is very interesting and beatuful plase in the world!

  




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