Where the Missouri River courses through central South Dakota, the prairies of the Midwest meet the grasslands of the Western plains. East of the Missouri--or east river, as South Dakotans say--lie flat, fertile farmlands of oats, hay, flaxseed, and corn. West river, rolling pasturelands are dominated by cattle ranches. In the far west rise the forested Black Hills, the nation's primary source of gold. In the southwest, the pinnacles and buttes of the barren Badlands are swept by eroding winds and rains.
The British and French fur trappers who explored South Dakota in the early 19th century were followed by Scandinavian and Central European immigrants in the 1850s. Undaunted by floods, swarms of grasshoppers, drought, and the resistance of Indians, they farmed the land. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1874 brought a rush of prospectors. Bustling mining towns like Deadwood and Lead attracted outlaws, as well as colorful characters like Wild Bill Hickok, Seth Bullock, and Calamity Jane.
As in many predominantly agricultural states, South Dakota's farm population decreased as mechanization was more widely adopted. Although the wide Missouri flows down the middle of the state, the western ranch country is still subject to devastating droughts, but irrigation projects promise some relief. The growth of tourism has provided new jobs and income.
South Dakota is named for the Sioux Indians who once lived in the territory. They called themselves Lakota, or Dakota, meaning friends or allies. South Dakota's most popular nickname is the Mount Rushmore State because of its most famous tourist attraction. The coyote, a native of South Dakota, is the state animal, and another nickname is the Coyote State.
South Dakota is shaped like a rectangle with a short tail in the southeastern corner. It is 77,047 square miles (199,551 square kilometers) in area, including 1,092 square miles (2,828 square kilometers) of inland water surface. In size it is the 16th state, larger than all the New England states. The state is bounded on the north by North Dakota, on the west by Montana and Wyoming, on the east by Minnesota and Iowa, and on the south by Nebraska. Its length, from east to west, is 380 miles (612 kilometers); its width, from north to south, is 245 miles (394 kilometers).
