South Dakota

South Dakota is a <a href="/facts/U.S._state/PFwcRIYQ">state</a> in the <a href="/facts/West_North_Central_states/mDfzVHAK">North Central</a> region of the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>. It is also part of the <a href="/facts/Great_Plains/LWPW30WU">Great Plains</a>. South Dakota is named after the <a href="/facts/Dakota_people/Hfq7u50z">Dakota</a> <a href="/facts/Sioux/NoM3bc62">Sioux</a> tribe, which comprises a large portion of the population—with nine <a href="/facts/Indian_reservation/Y52l5YFG">reservations</a> in the state—and has historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_area/q3nFXQlt">17th-largest by area</a>, the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population/ytDJqMaH">fifth-least populous</a>, and the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_population_density/KyIUGAlc">fifth-least densely populated</a> of the <a href="/facts/List_of_U.S._states/mWmHJNWv">50 United States</a>. <a href="/facts/Pierre%2c_South_Dakota/wvzhsK6a">Pierre</a> is the <a href="/facts/List_of_capitals_in_the_United_States/RMAd1LFl">state capital</a>, and <a href="/facts/Sioux_Falls%2c_South_Dakota/FDXxq9Dz">Sioux Falls</a>, with a population of about 213,900, is South Dakota's <a href="/facts/List_of_cities_in_South_Dakota/qfGocx2t">most populous city</a>. The state is bisected by the <a href="/facts/Missouri_River/NL8Sj9Wb">Missouri River</a>, dividing it into two geographically and socially distinct halves known as "<a href="/facts/East_River_(South_Dakota)/unnHnNg3">East River</a>" and "<a href="/facts/West_River_(South_Dakota)/fQJBwq6r">West River</a>". South Dakota is bordered by <a href="/facts/North_Dakota/9aNh8gAf">North Dakota</a> to the north, <a href="/facts/Minnesota/ncgVuC4Q">Minnesota</a> to the east, <a href="/facts/Iowa/taAwUvKE">Iowa</a> to the southeast, <a href="/facts/Nebraska/g9hHfRFU">Nebraska</a> to the south, <a href="/facts/Wyoming/kuKmWryL">Wyoming</a> to the west, and <a href="/facts/Montana/SHSnTNuG">Montana</a> to the northwest.
<a href="/facts/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States/lr8Qmd6N">Humans</a> have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a <a href="/facts/Black_Hills_Gold_Rush/upddt9gt">gold rush</a> in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of <a href="/facts/American_Indian_Wars/SfKx2Rtn">Indian wars</a>, ending with the <a href="/facts/Wounded_Knee_Massacre/xaL4SCBr">Wounded Knee Massacre</a> in 1890. As the southern part of the former <a href="/facts/Dakota_Territory/N1DfdGB5">Dakota Territory</a>, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with <a href="/facts/North_Dakota/9aNh8gAf">North Dakota</a>. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union; President <a href="/facts/Benjamin_Harrison/RFEfVlg4">Benjamin Harrison</a> shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first.
Major events in the 20th century included the <a href="/facts/Dust_Bowl/tdlH81AU">Dust Bowl</a> and <a href="/facts/Great_Depression/5K13wcg0">Great Depression</a>, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, and an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of its population, and a variety of crops grow in the area's fertile soil. West of the Missouri River, <a href="/facts/Ranch/0rnYTjQK">ranching</a> is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are in <a href="/facts/West_River_(South_Dakota)/fQJBwq6r">West River</a>. The <a href="/facts/Black_Hills/DQzybXIX">Black Hills</a>, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, is in the southwest part of the state, and contains <a href="/facts/Mount_Rushmore/LXopN6Al">Mount Rushmore</a>, a major tourist destination. South Dakota has a temperate <a href="/facts/Continental_climate/Yn5Erc8Y">continental climate</a>, with four distinct seasons and precipitation levels ranging from moderate in the east to semiarid in the west. The state's ecology features species typical of a North American <a href="/facts/Grassland/T4P1kqT0">grassland</a> biome.
Several <a href="/facts/Democratic_Party_(United_States)/MNe3nDrL">Democrats</a> represented South Dakota for multiple terms in both chambers of <a href="/facts/Congress_(United_States)/mJlU46K7">Congress</a>, but the state government is largely controlled by the <a href="/facts/Republican_Party_(United_States)/XXM1EVPr">Republican Party</a>, whose nominees have won the state in each of the last 14 <a href="/facts/United_States_presidential_election/kHjebjsW">presidential elections</a>. Historically dominated by an agricultural economy and a rural lifestyle, South Dakota has recently sought to diversify its economy to attract and retain residents. South Dakota's history and rural character still strongly influence its culture.

South Dakota open-in-new

South Dakota