James F. KasermanSarah J. Kaserman

I Save A TreeElectronic Books

"Under God the people rule"

Pierre

C 2003 I Save A Tree Inc.

The United States of America

South Dakota

ISBN# 0-9714299-1-X

Table of Contents

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Location 5

History before statehood 7

History since statehood 9

State government 11

State flag 13

Current facts 15

Industry today 17

State landmarks 19

Weather and land 21

Animals in South Dakota 23

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State bird 25

State tree 27

State flower 29

Famous people from South Dakota 31

Things to do in South Dakota 33

Popular sports in South Dakota 35

Fast facts 37

Glossary 39

Web sites / books for information 41

Index 43

Credits 45

Location

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Pierre

South Dakota is a Midwesternstate. To the north of South Dakota isNorth Dakota. To the east are the statesof Minnesota and Iowa.. Nebraska is tothe south, forming the southernborder. Wyoming and Montana are tothe west.

The capital is Pierre.. It islocated in the middle of the state.

HistoryBefore Statehood

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Train

Steamship

France claimed the region in 1742. In1803, the land was sold to the UnitedStates as part of the Louisiana Purchase.Lewis and Clark explored the area in

1804.. In 1831,steamboats onthe Missouri Riverhelped developthe fur trade.

The discoveryof gold in 1874in the BlackHills and thearrival of the railroad, brought manysettlers.

Deadwood was establishedin the middle of the mining camps.It became the most lawless town inthe nation.

HistorySince Statehood

Dust storm

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Hydroelectric power

On November 2, 1889, South Dakotabecame the 40th state.. Droughts haveplayed an important role in the state'shistory.. When the rains came, so didsettlers and farmers.. When the droughtstruck, peopleleft the state.During WorldWar I, theeconomyimproved and

more peoplearrived.. A ten-yeardrought began inthe 1930s, whichbrought terribledust storms called"black blizzards." World War II broughtprosperity to the state.. In 1944, theMissouri River Basin Project built fourhydroelectric dams.. This broughtthousands of workers to the state.

Government

Governor Mike Rounds

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State capitol building

The state government of SouthDakota is divided into three branches.Governor Mike Rounds is head of

the executivebranch. This branchis in charge ofcarrying out thelaws. The legislaturehas two parts,

the Senate andHouse of Rep-resentatives. T hethird branch is thejudicial branch. Thisbranch interprets the laws. S outhDakota has 67 counties. E ach has alocal government.

State Flag

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The stateflag of SouthDakota wasadopted in1909.. It has a blue field with a copy ofthe state seal.. On the seal, the chimneyrepresents mining, the plowmanstands for farming and the riverboatshows transportation.

Since 1963 there's a gold circle aroundthe seal representing the blazing rays of the sun. Letters reading "South Dakota,The Mount Rush-more State," the state nickname, arearranged in acircle aroundthe sun.

Current Facts

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Plains

Belle Fourche

Belle Fourche,South Dakota, is thegeographical centerof the United States.It was designated

so in 1959 with a monument the sheep-herders called "Stone Johnnie."There are over 754,844 people in SouthDakota.

The state is ranked the 46th largeststate for the number of people livingin it.. South Dakota covers 75,898square miles.. It isranked the 16thlargest state intotal area in theUnited States.

IndustryToday

Dairy cows

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Lumber

South Dakota'sfertile soil is thebasis of its greatagriculturaleconomy.. Beef,

dairy cows, hogs and sheep are raisedon the farms.. Wheat, corn, oats andsoybeans are some of the importantcrops grown in South Dakota.

Food processing is a major industry.Mining is important.. The mostimportant metal mined is gold.. Otherindustries includemachinery,lumber andjewelry products.Tourism isanotherimportantindustry.

Landmarks

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Mount Rushmore

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Badlands

One ofAmerica's mostfamous sights isMount Rushmorein the Black Hills.The faces of Presidents George Wash-ington,Thomas Jefferson,TheodoreRoosevelt and Abraham Lincoln werecarved in the side of the mountainwith dynamite.

The Badlands of South Dakota is anarea of strange stone shapes carvedby erosion.. Mata Paha or "SacredMountain" is in many Native Americanlegends. It rises1,400 feet abovethe prairie. Thismountain is alsoknown asBear Butte.

Weather & Land

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Thunderstorm

Badlands

The averagewinter tem-peratures in SouthDakota rangefrom 10° to 22°

Fahrenheit.. Summer average tem-peratures range from 78° to 68° in theBlack Hills. The average yearlyprecipitation is 13 inches in the north-west and 25 inches in the southeast.

The land in South Dakota is mostly

prairie, grassland and farmland.Thereare low rolling hills and lakes in theeast and plains in the southeast. Thewestern two-thirds of the state iscovered by thehills of the GreatPlains. The BlackHills are in thesouthwestcorner.

AnimalsIn South Dakota

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Coyote pup

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Rattlesnake

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The coyote was named the stateanimal in 1949 because of its large num-bers.. South Dakota's wildlife includes white-tailed deer, antelopes, mule deer,

bighorn sheep, elk and mountaingoats.. A herd of1,500 bison roamCuster State Park.

The prairierattlesnake isthe onlyvenomoussnake native toSouth Dakota. A number ofdifferent birds, including partridges,grouse, prairie chickens and wildturkeys can be found in SouthDakota.

State Bird

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Pheasant

Pheasant

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The ring-necked pheasant(Phasianusculchicus) wasnamed the statebird in 1943.Chinese ring-

necked pheasants were introduced intothe state in the late 1880s. The ring-necked pheasant is an important gamebird in South Dakota and many

other states. The male ring-neckedpheasant is colorful. Its feathers arebrown, red, gold, buff, blue and black.Its name comesfrom the whitering around itsneck. The birdhas a long tail.Pheasants eatberries, seeds andinsects.

State Tree

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Black hills spruce

New growth

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The Black Hillsspruce (Piceaglauca densata)was named thestate tree in 1947.

The spruce is an evergreen tree of thepine family. They have cones that hangdownward.. Most spruce tree needlesare four sided and short, growing less

than an inch long.The trees areusually shaped likepyramids, and can grow to be 150 feet tall. Spruce wood makes good mastsfor sailing ships.. Spruce is also usedfor wood pulp in the paper-makingindustry.

State Flower

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Pasqueflower

Pasqueflower

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The pasque-flower (Pulsatillahirsutissima) wasnamed the stateflower in 1903.. It isalso called the May

Day flower.. It grows wild in South Dakotaand the midwestern plains ofNorth America.

The flowers are one of the first signsof spring in South Dakota. The smallflowers are purple with yellow centers.The plant's fuzzyleaves havemany leafletsthat spread outlike the fingersof a hand.

Famous People

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Wild Bill's grave

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Monument to Crazy Horse

Chief Crazy Horse was a great SiouxIndian chief who was an importantleader in the Sioux War of 1876.. Chief

Sitting Bull was aSioux Indianmedicine man.. Headvised the Indiansin the Battle ofLittle Bighorn.

Wild Bill Hickokand CalamityJane werefamous armyscouts.. Morerecent South Dakotans includenewscaster Tom Brokaw, Senatorand Vice-President Hubert Humphreyand actress Cheryl Ladd.

Things to Do

In South Dakota

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Boot Hill

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Wind Cave

The Black Hillswith Mount Rush-more and the Bad-lands area arepopular spots tovisit.. Deadwood was

a wild and lawless mining town.. Manyfamous frontier characters are buriedin the town's Boot Hill Cemetery.

Wind Cave and Jewel Cave are in theBlack Hills.. Jewel Cave is the thirdlongest cave in the world with morethan 120 miles of passageways. Otheractivities inSouth Dakotainclude rodeos,pioneercelebrations,fairs and stage-coach races.

SportsIn South Dakota

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Hiking

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Horse racing

Favorite sports include hunting,fishing, hiking and camping in the

scenic countryside.Unusual sports likehorse racing and

is also enjoyed. South Dakota has sports teamsat both the high-school andthe college level.

Fast Facts

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Governor: Mike RoundsCapital, PierreSize: 75,898 square miles, 16th in the U.S.Population: 754,844 people, 46th in theU.S.Major cities: Sioux Falls, Rapid City,Aberdeen, Watertown, Pierre, HuronNickname: "Mount Rushmore State"State animal: coyoteState bird: ring-necked pheasantState flower: pasqueflowerState tree: Black Hills spruceState song: "Hail, South Dakota"State motto: "Under God the people rule"

Big-horn sheep

Sun flowers

Glossary

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character, a person marked byconspicuous or peculiar traits.drought, a long spell of dry weather.game bird, any bird hunted chiefly forsport.hydroelectric, the production ofelectricity by waterpower.newscaster, a broadcaster of radio ortelevision news.

passageway, a way that allows passageor permits one to travel.plowman, a man who guides a plow,a farmworker.pyramid, a structure having a polygonalbase with triangular sides that meetat the apex.sight, something seen or worth seeing.venomous, full of venom, poisonous,able to kill.

Links & BooksFor more information

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Link1Link2Link3

Visit our website @ www.isaveatree.com

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Title: The World Book EncyclopediaPublisher: World Book, Inc.Copyright: 2002

Title: The Kid's World Almanac of the UnitedStatesAuthor: Dr.Thomas G. AylesworthPublisher: World AlmanacCopyright: 1990

Title: Exploring the 50 StatesAuthor: Marcie AndersonPublisher: Willowisp Press, Inc.Copyright: 1983

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Index _______________________

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Badlands, 20, 33

Black Hills, 8, 19, 21,22, 33, 34

coyote, 23

gold, 8, 14, 18, 26 Rounds, Mike,

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Missouri River, 7, 10

Mount Rushmore, 19, 33

pasqueflower, 29

Pheasant, ring-necked, 25, 26

Pierre, 5

Sioux, 31

spruce, Black Hills, 27

Deadwood, 8, 33

CreditsWritten by

James F. Kaserman

Sarah J. Kaserman

Produced by

Robert Rance

Technologies

Doug Meyers

Design

Dan Mader

Edited by

Linda Coyner

Photos credits

South Dakota Department of Natural

Resources

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