North Dakota State Overview

State of North Dakota general data

  • Time zone: 7 hours less than Italy
  • Capital: Bismarck
  • Main towns: Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks, Jamestown, Minot.
  • Area: 183.112 km²
  • Population: 758,000 inhabitants approximately.
  • Population density: 4,1 residents / km²
  • State abbreviation: ND
  • Entry into the United States: It joins the United States on November 2, 1889, it is the 39th state to join the union.

According to thembaprograms.com, the state of North Dakota comprises three major physical regions, the Red River Valley region, the Eastern and Central section, and the Missouri River region. The Red River Valley is a flat region with land suitable for grazing. The section eastern and central state corresponds with the moraine of the ancient glacier, which formed a prairie with low hills. From northwest to south of North Dakota lies the Missouri River region, a region varied in its aspect of glaciated terrain, and similar to the central region of the state, while the area that was unaffected by glaciation to the south- west, is the wildest, is characterized by its aridity and by its strongly eroded sedimentary rock formations. North Dakota has an average elevation of 580m, with the highest point located in White Butle, 1,069m, and the lowest in the Red Riverbed 229m.

The most important river in North Dakota is the Missouri which enters the state from Montana, from the northwest, and runs through the Central Eastern region and then enters South Dakota. Missouri tributaries the Little Missouri, Knife, Heart, James rivers and Cannonball. The other great river network is that of the Red River which runs through the valley of the same name and the region of the prairies. This river is part of the Hudson River Basin, as it flows into Lake Winnipeg, Canada. The Red River is fed by the Pembina, Forest, Goose, Maple, Sheyenne and Wild Rice rivers. The largest lake in North Dakota is the Devils, in the northwest of the state. It also has numerous small lakes typical of glacial areas.

Flora and fauna – The vegetation ranges from the medium-high prairie of the east to the low grass of the western prairies; trees are found mainly in river valleys but also in some mountainous areas. The once very rich fauna is now impoverished, but antelope, deer and fur animals (beavers, muskrats and minks), coyotes and foxes are still found in abundance, as well as various species of birds.

The climate of North Dakota is extreme continental, this is characterized by very low temperatures in winter, -29 ° C and very high in the summer months, around 32 ° C. Average annual temperatures in the southwest are 6 ° C and in the northwest 2 ° C. The winds that affect this region come from the Gulf of Mexico, but given the distance, the state’s rainfall is very low, (less than 380mm per year), although the section close to the state of Minnesota receives a greater amount of rainfall. The summer months are the driest.

Bismarck: the capital of North Dakota

According to countryaah.com, Bismarck is a city and capital of North Dakota, the county seat of Burleigh, and a port on the Missouri River in the south-central part of the state. It is a trade center for grain and livestock, Bismarck Industries, producing agricultural machinery, processed food, molded material and steel. Of great interest are the State Capitol, a 19-storey building in Art Deco style, dominating the low buildings and green areas of the city. Called the “Skyscraper of the Prairie” this 1933 building is visible for miles and miles in all directions, located as it is on top of a small hill north of the center. the Governor’s Palace (1884), and the North Dakota Heritage Center, adjacent to the Capitol, offers an interesting introduction to the history of Native American settlement in this area. It also illustrates the history of the Capitol project and construction. On the opposite bank of Missouri is Fort Lincoln State Park, the site of a military fort, which was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer, who was later killed in the Battle of Little Bighorn in (1876). According to topschoolsoflaw.com, South of Bismarck is the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, where Hunkapapa chief Sioux Sitting Bull was killed on December 15, 1890.

It was founded in 1872 as a military camp to protect travelers from Indians and bandits. His original name was Edwinton. The secretary of the Nothern Pacific Railroad changed it, in homage to German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, with the hope of attracting foreign investment, given the large number of German immigrants in the area.

After the discovery of gold in 1874 on the nearby Black Hills, Bismarck developed as an important center of equipment and transportation for miners. In 1883 the city became the capital of the Dakota Territory, and when the territory was split into two states in 1889, Bismarck became the capital of North Dakota.

North Dakota State Overview