North Dakota is a state of the United States located in the
north of the United States on the Canadian border. North Dakota
is 183,112 km² and has a population of over 750,000 (89% White,
5% Native American, 3% Hispanic, 2% Black and 1% Other). The
capital is Bismarck. The climate is cool-temperate.
North
Dakota became the 39th state to join the Union after the
division of the Dakota Territory in 1889. North Dakota has the
nicknames Peace Garden State, named after the International
Peace Garden on the border with Canada at Dunseith, and Sioux
State. The name Dakota derives from the Dakota Native American
ethnic group who lived in this area before it was conquered by
immigrants and who still live here today.
1 Bismarck - State capital and seat of the governor, resort town,
picturesque center of North Dakota, growing daily.
2 Devils Lake -
the heart of North Dakota's lake country.
3 Dickinson Crown of the
Southwest, Gateway to the Badlands.
4 Fargo - North Dakota's largest
city, home of North Dakota State University, cultural, medical and
commercial center of the state.
5 Grand Forks - Home of the
University of North Dakota.
6 Jamestown – the Buffalo City, Pride of
the Prairie.
7 Minot - The Magic City, the capital of northwestern
North Dakota
8 Rugby - the geographic center of North America
9
Williston - the largest city on upper Missouri and the epicenter for the
state's recent oil boom
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site is an open air ethnographic museum on a site of three former Native American villages situated half a mile North of a town of Stanton, ND.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park is situated in Billings County and McKenzie Counties in a state of North Dakota in US.
By plane
Bismarck Municipal Airport (IATA: BIS)
Hector
International Airport (IATA: FAR) . near Fargo.
In the street
I94 Billings MT - Bismarck ND - Fargo ND - Minnesota MN - Minneapolis MN
I29 Sioux City IA - Sioux Falls SD - Fargo ND - Canada
H2 Spokane WA
- Grand Forks ND - Duluth MN
H85 Cheyenne WY - Deadwood SD - Fortuna
ND - Canada
Flag
The design of the North Dakota flag is an almost exact copy
of the flag carried by the North Dakota contingent of state troops in
the Philippine-American War. It was passed by the North Dakota
Legislature on March 3, 1911. Legislation in 1943 brought the flag into
line with the original flag of the Philippine War troops, which is on
display at the Heritage Center in Bismarck.
The measurements of
the official flag are 33:26.
Since at least 2000 BC hunter-gatherers and sedentary farmers lived
in North Dakota. Several distinct groups of Native Americans lived in
the region when the first Europeans arrived. The Dakota/Sioux, the
Assiniboine and the Cheyenne were nomadic and primarily hunted herds of
bison. This way of life only became possible when riding horses became
available in the 18th century. Around 1800 some Chippewa groups also
moved to the Red River Valley in eastern South Dakota. Other Native
American groups such as the Mandan, the Hidatsa, and the Arikara lived
primarily from agriculture and trade, with only occasional hunting.
Their fortified settlements on the Missouri River developed into fur
trading centers in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The first
European to reach the area was the French Canadian La Vérendrye, who led
an expedition to the Mandan villages around 1738. Trade between tribes
was arranged in such a way that North Dakota tribes rarely traded
directly with Europeans. Nonetheless, by the time of the Lewis and Clark
expedition, the tribes maintained sufficient contact with Europeans via
the fur trade to be aware of French and Spanish claims to their
territory. In 1837/38 a smallpox epidemic broke out in the villages on
the Missouri River, killing about 90% of the native people.
The
Dakota Territory was sparsely populated until the late 19th century,
when railroads were being built rapidly and land was sold on a large
scale. A law of February 22, 1889 under the presidency of Grover
Cleveland cleared the way for North and South Dakota as well as for
Montana and Washington to become a state. With the signature of his
successor Benjamin Harrison, the recording took place on November 2,
1889. The dispute between the two new states as to which of them should
be admitted first posed a problem. Harrison instructed his Secretary of
State, James G. Blaine, to shuffle the papers and thereby obscure the
order of the signatures. However, because "North Dakota" comes before
"South Dakota" in the alphabet, North Dakota was included first in the
statute book, making it the 39th state ahead of South Dakota.
The
territorial governments, like the first state governments, were
considered very corrupt. In the early 20th century, the strong influence
of the Nonpartisan League led to social reform. The Great Depression hit
North Dakota very hard and was compounded by the farm crisis of the
1920s. The original North Dakota Capitol burned down in the 1930s. A
limestone-faced Art Deco "skyscraper," which still stands today,
replaced it.
In the 1950s, the federal government undertook
several major construction projects in North Dakota. These included the
Garrison Dam and air force bases at Minot and Grand Forks. As oil prices
soared and production became profitable, an oil boom began in the
Williston Basin in the 1980's. As a result, the population grew to its
highest level of almost 700,000 inhabitants. Today the population is
around 640,000; this corresponds to the status of the 1920s.
Seven sites in the state have National Historic Landmark status for
their historical significance.
North Dakota is located in the region of the US known as the Great
Plains. The state shares the North Red River with Minnesota to the east;
South Dakota is to the south, Montana is to the west, and the Canadian
provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are to the north. North Dakota is
located near the geographic center of North America, indicated by a
stone marker at Rugby, marking the "geographic center of the North
American subcontinent." With an area of 183,058 km², North Dakota is the
17th largest state.
The western and northern halves of the state
are made up of foothills of the Great Plains and the Badlands,
respectively. In fact, the state's highest point, White Butte, at 3,506
feet (1,069 m), and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, are located in the
Badlands. The region is abundant in fossil fuels such as natural gas,
crude oil and lignite coal. The Missouri River forms the artificial Lake
Sakakawea, controlled by the Garrison Dam, the third largest artificial
body of water in the United States by accumulated volume, behind lakes
Mead and Powell.
The central region of the state is divided into
the Drift Prairie and the Missouri Plateau. The eastern part of the
state corresponds to the plain of the Red River of the North (the bottom
of the glacial lake Agassiz). Its fertile soil, drained by the
meandering Red River flowing north into Lake Winnipeg, supports a large
agricultural industry. Devils Lake, the largest natural body of water in
the state, is also located to the east.
Eastern North Dakota is
generally flat. However, there are significant hills and buttes in
western North Dakota. Most of the state is covered in grasslands, which
cover most of eastern North Dakota but are increasingly sparse in
central and further west. Natural trees in North Dakota are generally
found where there is good drainage, such as the ravines and valleys near
the Pembina River Gorge and the Killdeer Mountains, the Turtle
Mountains, the hills around Devils Lake, in the dune area of McHenry
County in the center of the state, and along the slopes of the Sheyenne
River valley and delta. This diverse terrain is home to nearly 2,000
species of plants.
North Dakota is a good example of a continental climate: it is far
from any large body of water that could help moderate its climate.
Therefore, the climate of this state can be very hot and humid in
summer, and very cold in winter.
The meeting of warm air masses
from the Gulf of Mexico with cold air masses from the Arctic regions
usually causes strong winds in the region. In summer, the collision of
these different currents often produces thunderstorms and sometimes also
hailstorms and tornadoes. In winter, the weather tends to be more stable
(cold and dry), although the constant wind can bring flurries of snow at
any time. In late fall or early spring there can be severe snow storms.
Temperatures as low as –51°C in winter and 49°C above zero in summer
have been recorded in North Dakota.
North Dakota borders the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north, Montana to the west, South Dakota to the south, and Minnesota to the east across the Red River of the North and the Bois de Sioux River.
To the west are some natural resources such as petroleum and lignite.
The climate of North Dakota is a typical example of a continental
climate; the state is far from large bodies of water that might moderate
the climate. The range therefore ranges from oppressively hot and dry
summers to bitterly cold winters. Warm air masses from the Gulf of
Mexico and cold air masses from the polar regions often cause strong
winds.
In summer, the collision of arctic and tropical systems
leads to thunderstorms, some of which are violent, on 20 to 40 days a
year. Tornadoes are not uncommon, most commonly occurring in the
southeast quarter of the state. In winter, the weather tends to be more
stable: cold and dry, with occasional snowfall. Despite this, the
constant wind can bring snowstorms at any time of the winter. Heavy
snowstorms occur in late winter and early spring.
In spring,
flooding is common in the very shallow Red River Valley. In 1997, a
severe flood in eastern North Dakota submerged much of the Red River
Valley and caused extensive damage to the city of Grand Forks.
The basis of state law is the Constitution of North Dakota.
Amendments to the constitution are subject to a popular vote. In 1914,
the instrument of the constitutional initiative was introduced, so that
constitutional changes could also be introduced through the popular
initiative.
legislative branch
Legislation lies with the North
Dakota Legislative Assembly, which consists of two chambers: the Senate
and the House of Representatives. The state is divided into 47
legislative districts, each of which elects one senator and two members
of the House of Representatives. Senators are elected every four years
and members of the House of Representatives every two years.
Judiciary
At the lowest judicial level there are municipal and
district courts, to which the North Dakota Court of Appeals is superior.
The state's highest court is the North Dakota Supreme Court.
Federal level
Like its southern neighbor and Montana to the west,
North Dakota is a conservative state that, however, relies on aid from
the legislature for agriculture. This constellation leads to a
preference for Republicans, most recently Donald Trump, for the office
of president. Overall, the Republicans have won in every presidential
election since 1968. However, in recent years this has often been offset
by an open attitude towards the Democratic candidates for Congress. U.S.
Senators for North Dakota are Republican John Hoeven and Republican
Kevin Cramer, who won the November 2018 election against Democratic
incumbent Heidi Heitkamp; In the House of Representatives, the state is
represented by Republican Kelly Armstrong.
Education
The most
important universities in North Dakota are the University of North
Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks and the North Dakota State University (NDSU)
in Fargo. In addition to several public and private universities and
colleges, there are also five colleges specifically dedicated to
indigenous education.
Military
In the north of the state, 150
Minuteman nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles from the 91st
Missile Wing of the US Air Force are stationed and are in constant
operational readiness. Headquarters is Minot Air Force Base.
An important writer whose works are set in North Dakota is Louise Erdrich.
Bonanzaville, USA, West Fargo
Dakota Dinosaur Museum, Dickinson
North Dakota Heritage Center, Bismarck
Fargo Air Museum, Fargo
North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks
Plains Art Museum, Fargo
Roger Maris Museum, Fargo
North Dakota Lewis & Clark Interpretive
Center, Washburn
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site,
Stanton
In the north of North Dakota is the “International Peace Garden”,
which crosses over into Canadian territory. This landscape garden gave
the state its nickname, Peace Garden State.
State parks
There
are 18 state parks in North Dakota, managed by the North Dakota Parks &
Recreation Department.
The real gross domestic product per capita (per capita real GDP) was
USD 68,723 in 2016 (national average of the 50 US states: USD 57,118;
national ranking: 5). Although less than 10% of the population is
employed in agriculture, it continues to play an important role.
Important products are grain, potatoes and flax. North Dakota is the
largest producer of barley, sunflower seeds, wheat and durum wheat in
the United States. Cattle farming and turkey breeding are important.
The unemployment rate was 2.2% in March 2020 (US average: 4.4%).
North Dakota had the lowest unemployment rate of any state in the
country.
raw materials
Oil and gas production has become
increasingly important since oil reserves were discovered near Tioga in
1951, while brown coal mining has declined. Technical progress and
increased oil prices have led to an “oil boom” in the region, which has
large reserves of tight oil (“fracking oil”). These are now increasingly
being exploited, currently in the Bakken Formation. In March 2012, 17.9
million barrels of crude oil were produced in North Dakota, meaning that
North Dakota overtook Alaska (17.5 million barrels) for the first time
and was the second largest oil producer in the USA behind Texas. In
October 2012, 23.2 million barrels were already produced, more than 11%
of the total US production of 206.7 million barrels in October 2012.
North Dakota has great potential for wind power generation in the
Great Plains, which has been increasingly exploited since 2008. Before
2008, there was little significant wind power generation, but by 2010,
wind power generation had increased sharply to 5,236 million kWh,
accounting for just over 4 percent of total U.S. wind energy production.
streets
The major east-west routes are US 2 and Interstate 94.
State 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 to southeast from Portal to Jamestown
and then along with I-94 to Fargo. US 12 runs through the extreme
southwest of the state and intersects US 85 in Bowman to Denver and El
Paso (Texas).
railroad
The BNSF Railway and the Canadian
Pacific Railway (CP) maintain the most extensive rail network in North
Dakota. Regional companies are the Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western
Railroad (DMVW) and the Red River Valley and Western Railroad (RRVW),
which mostly operate on leased BNSF and CP branch lines that were due to
be closed.
In addition to those mentioned, the railway companies
that operate in North Dakota include two others:
Dakota Northern
Railroad
Northern Plains Railroad
Former railway companies in
the state were:
Burlington Northern Railroad
Chicago and North
Western Railway (CNW)
Great Northern Railway (GN)
Milwaukee Road
(MILW)
Midland Continental Railroad
Northern Pacific Railway
Soo Line (SOO)
air traffic
North Dakota has 90 public
airports. Regular flights serve Bismarck, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Fargo,
Grand Forks, Jamestown, Minot and Williston.
Other infrastructure
Fargo is home to the KVLY-TV mast, a television broadcast tower with a
height of 628.8 meters, making it the fifth tallest structure in the
world (as of 2023).