Outline of North Dakota
North Dakota is a Midwestern state of the United States. It lies in the center of the North American continent. The geographic center of North America is near the town of Rugby. North Dakota is mainly a farm state. Its economy is based more heavily on farming than that of any other state except South Dakota. Many North Dakota factories process farm products or farm equipment. Many of the state's merchants also rely on agriculture. North Dakota has a larger percentage of agricultural workers than most other states.
Farms and ranches cover nearly all North Dakota. They stretch from the flat Red River Valley in the east, across rolling plains, to the rugged Badlands in the west. The chief crop, wheat, is grown in every county. North Dakota harvests about three-fourths of the nation's flaxseed. It is also the top producer of sunflower seeds and barley in the country and a leader in the production of oats, pinto beans, rye, and sugar beets.
Soil is North Dakota's most precious resource. It is the base of the state's great agricultural wealth. But North Dakota also has enormous mineral resources. These mineral resources include 400 to 600 billion short tons (360 to 540 billion metric tons) of lignite coal. In addition, North Dakota has large oil reserves. Petroleum was not discovered in the state until 1951. But petroleum quickly became North Dakota's most valuable mineral resource.
Few white settlers came to the North Dakota region before the 1870's because railroads had not yet entered the area. During the early 1870's, the Northern Pacific Railroad began to push across the Dakota Territory. Large-scale farming also began during the 1870's. Eastern corporations and some families established huge wheat farms covering large areas of land in the Red River Valley. The farms made such enormous profits that they were called bonanza farms. White settlers, attracted by the success of the bonanza farms, flocked to North Dakota, rapidly increasing the territory's population. In 1870, North Dakota had 2,405 people. By 1890, the population had grown to 190,983.
White settlers began to pour into North Dakota by the thousands in the 1870's and 1880's. They were attracted by reports of the large profits made in wheat farming and the availability of free government land. Settlers came from states to the east and south and from Europe. The largest number from other nations came from Norway. They settled throughout the region. Germans from Russia settled in the south-central area, and Canadians moved into the northern Red River Valley. Today, the state's largest population groups are made up of people of German and Norwegian descent.
North Dakota has no large manufacturing industries to encourage the growth of big cities. Only 17 cities in the state have more than 2,500 people. Only four have more than 25,000 people. They are, in order of size, Fargo; Bismarck, the state capital; Grand Forks; and Minot. About a third of the state's people live in these four cities. North Dakota's larger cities still serve their original function as centers of shipping, supply, and trade for the surrounding agricultural region. Most of the factories in North Dakota's cities are small. They manufacture, pack, and process food and food products.
North Dakota's crisp autumn days attract thousands of hunters to streams and lakes where migrating waterfowl pause on their way south. Hunters also shoot grouse, Hungarian partridges, pheasants, and other game birds. Vacationers catch catfish, perch, pike, trout, and other fishes. Favorite summer-resort areas include the Badlands region, including Theodore Roosevelt National Park; Devils Lake; and the Killdeer, Pembina, and Turtle mountains. During the summer, musicals are offered at Fort Totten, on an Indian reservation south of Devils Lake. Fort Totten has the nation's only preserved ''cavalry square.'' Variety shows are offered in the Burning Hills Amphitheater near Medora, a picturesque old cow town that has been restored. The town is a popular tourist attraction.
North Dakota was named for the Sioux Indians who once lived in the territory. The Sioux called themselves Dakota or Lakota, meaning allies or friends. One of North Dakota's nicknames is the Peace Garden State. This nickname honors the International Peace Garden, which lies on the state's border with Manitoba. But North Dakota is most often called the Flickertail State, because of the many flickertail ground squirrels that live in central North Dakota. Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota, and Fargo is the largest city.
