South Dakota

Abbreviation	SD Source: United States Postal Service - Abbreviations
Capital	Pierre
Population	814,180 Source: Resident Population Data - 2010 Census
Governor	Dennis Daugaard (Republican, to January 2015)
Entered the Union	Nov. 2, 1889 as the 40th state
Motto	Under God the people rule
Nickname	The Mount Rushmore State, The Coyote State
Flower	American pasqueflower
Bird	Ring-necked pheasant
Song	Hail! South Dakota
Professional Sports Teams	No NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS, or NHL teams. (sports listing policy)
Origin of Name	From the Sioux tribe, meaning allies
Historical Sites	Mt. Rushmore is famous for its likenesses of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt
Points of Interest	The World's Only Corn Palace in Mitchell; The city of Deadwood where Wild Bill Hickok was killed in 1876 and where gambling was recently legalized to recapture the city's Old West flavor
Bordering States	South Dakota borders North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana.
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Follow these links to read articles about South Dakota from Encyclopedias and Almanacs:

• Britannica Online Encyclopedia
• Columbia Encyclopedia
• Information Please Almanac

Official State Links

• State of South Dakota Official Home Page
  http://www.state.sd.us/
  This is the official website for the State of South Dakota.
• South Dakota State Library
  http://www.sdstatelibrary.com/
  Here is the homepage for the South Dakota State Library.
• South Dakota State Historical Society
  http://www.sdhistory.org/
  Here is the homepage for the South Dakota State Historical Society.
• Museum of the South Dakota State Historical Society
  http://www.sdhistory.org/mus/museum.htm
  Here is the homepage for the South Dakota State Historical Society Museum.
• South Dakota State Archives
  http://www.sdhistory.org/arc/archives.htm
  Here is the homepage for the South Dakota State Archives.
• South Dakota State Parks & Recreation Areas
  http://www.sdgfp.info/parks/Index.htm
  Here is the homepage for South Dakota State Parks.
• Travel SD.com
  http://www.travelsd.com/
  Here is the official state tourism website for South Dakota.
• South Dakota Kids Korner For Little Kids
  http://www.state.sd.us/attorney/kidskorner/little/index.htm
  Here is a state site for kids from the South Dakota Attorney General's Office.

Other State Links

• 50states.com: South Dakota
  http://www.50states.com/sdakota.htm
  The site provides a wealth of information about South Dakota. It includes everything from the highest point to county profile to climate.
• Things To Do in South Dakota
  http://www.thingstodo.com/states/SD/index.htm
  ThingsToDo.com is an online guide to information about South Dakota's entertainment, recreation, and travel, and includes the state's interesting facts, famous people, and special events.
• Roadside America: South Dakota Attractions
  http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/sd.html
  Roadside America describes itself as an online guide to offbeat attractions. This site offers reviews of "weird sites along the highway" in South Dakota.
• Black Hills.com
  http://www.blackhills.com/
  This is an online directory linking dozens of websites related to the state of South Dakota.
• Mount Rushmore National Monument
  http://www.nps.gov/moru/
  Here is the official National Park Service website for the famous South Dakota landmark.
• FedStats: MapStat: United States: South Dakota
  http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/46000.html
  Fast access to statistics from more than 100 federal agencies on "economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more" in South Dakota.

• The Black Hills are the highest mountains east of the Rockies.
• A memorial to Crazy Horse is being carved in granite near Custer.
• The Badlands of SD, a region of barren ravines and cliffs, were created by volcanic action as well as by wind and water erosion.
• The Spirit Mound near Vermillion served as a vantage point for Lewis and Clark as they viewed the Prairie Plains.
• The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs has 100 Columbian and Woolly Mammoth fossils buried there.
• Some of the logs in Petrified Wood Park in Lemmon weigh more than 10,000 pounds. Others contain the fossilized remains of snakes and early marine life.
• Sitting Bull's grave sits on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River near Mobridge. It wasn't always there. In 1953 under the cover of darkness, a group of South Dakotans snuck into ND, exhumed his bones (with his relatives' permission) and reburied them in their rightful home.

Some Famous People from this State

• Sitting Bull (1834?-1890), Chief of Hunkpappa Sioux. He defended Black HIlls, led the Teton Sioux to Canada, and was killed during arrest.
• Tom Brokaw (1940- ), TV newscaster. He is the anchor of "NBC Nightly News".
• Crazy Horse (1840?-1877), Oglala chief. He led the Teton Sioux in defense of Black HIlls and died resisting arrest.
• Gertrude Bonnin (Zitkala-Sa), Sioux writer and pan-Indian activist.
• Cheryl Ladd (1951- ), actress. She was famous for her role in the TV series, Charlie's Angels.