North Dakota
| |||||
| State nickname: Peace Garden State | |||||
Other U.S. States | |||||
| Capital | Bismarck | ||||
| Largest City | Fargo | ||||
| Area - Total - Land - Water - % water |
Ranked 19th 183,272 kmÃÂò 178,839 kmÃÂò 4,432 kmÃÂò 2.4% | ||||
| Population
- Total (2000) - Density |
Ranked 47th
642,200 3.5/kmÃÂò | ||||
| Admittance into Union
- Order - Date | 39th November 2, 1889 | ||||
| Time zone |
Central: UTC-6/-5 Mountain: UTC-7/-6 Eastern ND is Central, Western is Mountain | ||||
|
Latitude Longitude |
45°55' N to 49ÃÂð N 97° W to 104° W | ||||
|
Width Length Elevation -Highest -Mean -Lowest |
340 km 545 km 1,069 meters 580 meters 229 meters | ||||
| ISO 3166-2: | US-ND | ||||
North Dakota is a state of the United States, named after the Dakota segment of the Sioux Native American Indians. Its U.S. postal abbreviation is ND.
USS North Dakota was named in honor of this state.
| Table of contents |
|
2 Law and government 3 Geography 4 Economy 5 Demographics 6 Important cities and towns 7 Education 8 Miscellaneous information 9 Trivia 10 External links |
History
North Dakota got its name from the Dakota division of the Sioux Indians, who lived on the plains before the Europeans arrived. "Dakota" means "friend". North Dakota was admitted to the Union as the 39th state on November 2, 1889. South Dakota was admitted on the same day (see Trivia, below).
Law and government
The capital of North Dakota is Bismarck and its governor is John Hoeven (Republican). Its two U.S. senators are Kent Conrad (Democrat) and Byron Dorgan (Democrat). Its congressman is Earl Pomeroy (Democrat).
North Dakota has a bicameral legislature. The state elects two House Representatives and one Senator from each of 47 districts apportioned by population. The legislature only meets for 80 days in even-numbered years and when summoned by the governor.
The major political parties in North Dakota are the Republican Party and the Democratic-NPL Party.
North Dakota's judiciary is rather simple. Each of the 53 counties has a court, from which appeals are sent straight to the Supreme Court. Because of the expense of having each county hire a judge, and the fairly low workload, the state is divided into seven judicial districts which collectively elect judges to travel to the various courthouses and hear cases.
District Judges are elected to six-year terms. Supreme Court Judges are elected to ten-year terms. The Supreme Court Justice is selected every 5 years by vote of the District and Supreme Court Judges.
See: List of North Dakota Governors
North Dakota is bordered on the north by the Canadian Provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, on the west by Montana, on the south by South Dakota, and on the east, across the Red River of the North, by Minnesota. The Missouri River flows through the western part of the state, forming Lake Sakakawea behind the Garrison Dam. It is mainly a farm state and most of its industries (food processing and farm equipment) are connected to farming. Farms and ranches stretch across the rolling plains from the Red River Valley in the east to the rugged Badlands in the west. The geographic centre of the North American continent is located near Rugby.
6.1% of its population were reported as under 5, 25% under 18, and 14.7% were 65 or older. Females made up approximately 50.1% of the population.
By population, the ten largest urban centres in the state are:
Geography
See: List of North Dakota countiesEconomy
North Dakota's 1999 total gross state product was $17 billion, the smallest in the nation. Its 2000 Per Capita Personal Income was $25,068, placing it 38th in the nation. The state's agricultural outputs include wheat, cattle, barley, flax, milk, soybeans, sunflowers, and sugar beets. Its smal include industrial output includes electric power, food processing, machinery, coal mining, and tourism.Demographics
As of the 2000 census, the population of North Dakota is 642,200. Its population grew 0.5% (3,400) from its 1990 levels. According to the 2000 census,
92.4% (593,181) identified themselves as White,
1.2% (7,786) as Hispanic or Latino,
0.6% (3,916) as black,
0.6% (3,606) as Asian,
4.9% (31,329) as American Indian or Alaska Native,
0.04% (230) as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
0.4% (2,540) as other, and
1.2% (7,398) identified themselves as belonging to two or more races. Important cities and towns
See also: List of cities in North Dakota
Interestingly, Devils Lake tends to be considered more important than Wahpeton because of its geographic isolation. As for population trends, Fargo and Bismarck are growing fast, but the other cities in the state are staying put or declining in population.Education
Colleges and universities
North Dakota boasts one of the healthiest higher education scenes in the nation. There are 11 public colleges and universities, 5 tribal community colleges, and 3 private schools in the state. They are:Miscellaneous information
Trivia
A bill for statehood for North and South Dakota (and Montana, and Washington)
was passed on February 22 1889 during the Administration of Grover Cleveland.
It was left to his successor Benjamin Harrison to
sign proclamations formally admitting North and South
Dakota to the Union on November 2 1889. However, the rivalry
between the northern and southern territories
presented a dilemma: only one, upon the President's
signature on the proclamation, could gain the distinction
of being admitted before the other. So Harrison directed
his Secretary of State James Blaine to shuffle
the papers and obscure from him which he was signing
first, and the priority went unrecorded.External links
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Federal district
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