North Dakota
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State flag
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NORTH DAKOTA,
one of the West North Central states of the U.S., bounded
on the N by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba,
on the E by Minnesota, on the S by South Dakota, and on the W by
Montana. The Red River of the North forms most of the E boundary.
North Dakota entered the Union on Nov. 2, 1889, as the 39th
state. Possessing fertile soils and extensive grazing lands, North
Dakota has traditionally been an agricultural state. By the early
1990s, although service industries, government, mining, and manufacturing
had grown in importance, agriculture retained a central role in
the state economy. The name of the state is derived from a Sioux
Indian term. North Dakota is called the Peace Garden State—a
reference to the International Peace Garden on the border between
North Dakota and Manitoba.
| NORTH DAKOTA STATE FACTS |
| DATE OF STATEHOOD: |
November 2, 1889; 39th state |
| CAPITAL: |
Bismarck |
| MOTTO: |
Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable |
| NICKNAME: |
Peace Garden State |
| STATE SONG: |
“North Dakota Hymn” (words by James W. Foley; music by C. S. Putnam) |
| STATE TREE: |
American elm |
| STATE FLOWER: |
Wild prairie rose |
| STATE BIRD: |
Western meadowlark |
| POPULATION (2000 census): |
642,200; 47th among the states |
| AREA: |
183,123 sq km (70,704 sq mi); 19th largest state;
includes 4428 sq km (1710 sq mi) of inland water |
| HIGHEST POINT: |
White Butte, 1069 m (3506 ft) |
| LOWEST POINT: |
229 m (750 ft), along the Red River of the North |
| ELECTORAL VOTES: |
3 |
| U.S. CONGRESS: |
2 senators; 1 representative |
| GOVERNOR: |
John Hoeven (Rep.) Took office January 2001 |
North Dakota, with an area of 183,123 sq km (70,704 sq mi),
is the 19th largest state in the U.S.; 4.4% of the land
area is owned by the federal government. The state is roughly rectangular
in shape, and its extreme dimensions are about 340 km (about 210
mi) from N to S and about 580 km (about 360 mi) from E to W. Elevations
range from 229 m (750 ft) along the Red River of the North in the
NE corner of the state to 1069 m (3506 ft) atop White Butte in the
Badlands of the SW. The mean elevation is 579 m (1900 ft).
The E part of North Dakota lies in the Western Great
Lakes Lowland
region. This is an area of plains containing many glacial features
such as moraines and flat plains that were formerly the beds of
glacial lakes. The bed of the ancient Lake Agassiz, along the E
border, contains the state’s richest soils. Scattered marshes and small
lakes are found throughout the Western Great Lakes Lowland.
On the W border of the lowlands is an escarpment, a steep slope
90 to 180 m (about 300 to 600 ft) high known as the Missouri Coteau.
To the W of this escarpment lies the Great Plains, known in North
Dakota as the Missouri Plateau. The topography of this region is
varied. Many flat-topped buttes stand as high as about 180 m (about
600 ft) above the plains, and a strip of Badlands, which are
spectacular
formations produced by the erosion of soft sedimentary rocks, is
found in the SW.
Western North Dakota is drained by the Missouri R. and its tributaries,
which include the Little Missouri, Knife, Heart, and Cannonball
rivers. The E plains are drained by the north-flowing Red River
of the North and its tributaries—the Pembina, Forest, Goose,
Maple, Sheyenne, and Wild Rice rivers. The N central part of the
state is drained by the Souris R., and the SE part by the James R.,
a tributary of the Missouri R. Numerous small natural lakes are
in the glaciated part of the state; the largest of these is Devils
Lake. The largest body of water in the state is Lake Sakakawea,
formed behind Garrison Dam on the Missouri R.
North Dakota has a continental climate, marked by long harsh
winters and short hot summers. Humidity is usually low in summer,
mitigating the heat. The average annual temperature ranges from
6.1° C (43° F) in the SW to 2.2° C (36° F)
in the NW. The recorded temperature has ranged from –51.1° C
(–60° F) in 1936 to 49.4° C (121° F)
also in 1936. The average annual precipitation decreases from 559
mm (22 in) in the SE to 356 mm (14 in) in the SW. About three-fourths
of the precipitation is received during the warm months. Winters
are relatively dry; the average annual snowfall is approximately
815 mm (about 32 in).
| NORTH DAKOTA AVERAGE CLIMATE |
| |
Fargo |
Bismarck |
| Average January temperature range |
–20° to –9.4° C |
–4° to 15° F |
–19.4° to –7.2° C |
–3° to 19° F |
| Average July temperature range |
15° to 28.3° C |
59° to 83° F |
13.9° to 28.9° C |
57° to 84° F |
| Average annual temperature |
5° C |
41° F |
5° C |
41° F |
| Average annual precipitation |
508 mm |
20 in |
406 mm |
16 in |
| Average annual snowfall |
889 mm |
35 in |
965 mm |
38 in |
| Mean number of days per year with appreciable precipitation |
100 |
96 |
| Average daily relative humidity |
72% |
68% |
| Mean number of clear days per year |
87 |
94 |
Before the land was plowed, most of North Dakota was grassland.
Tall grasses, mostly bluestem, dominated the E prairies, and short
grasses, such as grama, needle, and wheat grass, were found in the
W. Forests cover barely 1% of the state’s land
area. Trees are confined to the river valleys and the adjacent valley
walls, where oak, ash, cottonwood, and aspen are the most common species.
In the W small stands of red cedar occur in the Badlands. Wild flowers
are numerous in the prairie lands.
Formerly, great herds of bison grazed the prairies. Today
pronghorn antelope are found in the W, and deer are present in all
areas of the state. A variety of small mammals occur, including
bobcat, lynx, badger, beaver, mink, raccoon, and rabbit. Prairie
dog towns, which are extensive underground communities, are found
in the Badlands. Bird life is diverse, especially in summer, when
vast numbers of waterfowl breed in the state’s lakes and
marshes. Bass, pike, perch, carp, and catfish inhabit the state’s
streams and rivers.
North Dakota has great deposits of petroleum, which are found in
the Williston Basin in the W part of the state. The state has some
of the largest reserves of brown coal, or lignite, in the nation,
concentrated mostly in the W. Sand and gravel are mined throughout
the state. Other mineral resources include natural gas and clay.
According to the 2000 census, North Dakota had 642,200
inhabitants,
an increase of 0.5% over 1990. In 2000 the average population
density was 9.3 people per sq mi of land area, one of the lowest
in the country. Much of the population was concentrated in and around
the state’s four largest cities. Whites made up 92.4% of
the population and blacks 0.6%. Additional population groups
included 31,329 American Indians, 3606 persons of Asian origin, and 230
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders. (These figures
do not include the 1.2% of the population who reported
more than one race.) The Ojibwa and Sioux were the largest Indian
groups.
In 2000, a total of 7786 persons reported being of Hispanic background.
The largest cities were Fargo; Bismarck, the capital; Grand Forks;
Minot; and Mandan.
According to the 1990 census, Lutherans (36.5%) and
Roman Catholics (30.1%) formed the largest religious groups
in the state. North Dakota is one of the nation’s least
urbanized states; in 1990 about 53% of all state residents
lived in areas defined as urban and the rest lived in rural areas.
| POPULATION OF NORTH DAKOTA SINCE 1870 |
| Year of Census |
Population |
Classified As Urban |
| 1870 |
2,400 |
0% |
| 1880 |
37,000 |
7% |
| 1890 |
191,000 |
6% |
| 1900 |
319,000 |
7% |
| 1920 |
647,000 |
14% |
| 1940 |
642,000 |
21% |
| 1960 |
632,000 |
35% |
| 1980 |
653,000 |
49% |
| 1990 |
638,800 |
53% |
| 2000 |
642,200 |
-- |
| POPULATION OF TEN LARGEST CITIES IN NORTH DAKOTA |
| |
2000 Census |
1990 Census |
| Fargo |
90,599 |
74,711 |
| Bismarck |
55,532 |
49,256 |
| Grand Forks |
49,321 |
49,425 |
| Minot |
36,567 |
34,544 |
| Mandan |
16,718 |
15,177 |
| Dickinson |
16,010 |
16,097 |
| Jamestown |
15,527 |
15,571 |
| West Fargo |
14,940 |
12,287 |
| Williston |
12,512 |
13,131 |
| Wahpeton |
8,586 |
8,751 |
North Dakota’s cultural life owes much to the local
Indian and immigrant Scandinavian, Russian, and German traditions.
Cultural institutions are concentrated in the larger cities of Fargo,
Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot.
The first school in North Dakota was opened by missionaries
in 1818 at Pembina. Support for public education was established
by the territorial legislature in 1862, and by the time the state
entered the Union in 1889, almost 1400 public schools had been established.
In the late 1980s, North Dakota had 679 public elementary and secondary schools, with a total annual enrollment of about 84,900
elementary pupils and 32,900 secondary students. Some 6200 students
attended private schools. In the same period, the state had 20 institutions
of higher education, with a combined enrollment of about 40,350.
The largest university is the University of North Dakota (1883),
at Grand Forks. Other institutions include North Dakota State University
(1890), at Fargo; Jamestown College (1883), at Jamestown; Minot
State University (1913), at Minot; and the University of Mary (1955),
at Bismarck.
The State Historical Society of North Dakota Museum at Bismarck
contains exhibits on the region’s Indian past and pioneer
history. Other museums include the North Dakota Museum of Art, in
Grand Forks, and the Frontier Museum, in Williston. The first public
library in the state was opened by a women’s club in 1897;
today North Dakota has some 95 public libraries and branches. The
library of the University of North Dakota, at Grand Forks, has a
large collection of Scandinavian literature. Of the many community
theater groups, the best known is the Little Country Theater in
Fargo. North Dakota also has three symphony orchestras—at
Fargo, Minot, and Grand Forks—and a ballet company at Grand
Forks.
Some of North Dakota’s historical sites are military
forts established during the 19th century. They include Forts Abercrombie,
Buford, Clark, Dilts, Mandan, Pembina, Ransom, Rice, Seward, Totten, and Union. Other notable landmarks are Sitting Bull’s Grave
Historic Site (the burial place of the Sioux chief), Writing Rock
Historic Park (a boulder with Indian inscriptions), and Theodore Roosevelt
National Park, with part of Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch.
North Dakota’s fishing and hunting opportunities
are among the best in the nation; especially abundant are game birds
such as duck, grouse, pheasant, and goose. In June and July rodeos
are held in many towns. During the long winters, ice skating, skiing,
ice hockey, and snowmobile races are popular.
In the early 1990s, North Dakota had 34 AM radio stations,
37 FM radio stations, and 22 television stations. In the same period,
the state had 10 daily newspapers, with a combined daily circulation
of some 187,300. The first radio station, WDAY in Fargo, began broadcasting
in 1922, and the first television station, KCJB in Minot, began
operation in 1953. The first newspaper, Frontier Scout, appeared
in Fort Union in 1864. The leading newspapers in the state today
are the Bismarck Tribune; the Forum, published
in Fargo; and the Grand Forks Herald.
North Dakota is governed under its original constitution,
adopted in 1889, as amended. A constitutional amendment may be proposed
by the state legislature or by an initiative. To become effective,
it must be approved by a majority of voters in a general election.
The chief executive of North Dakota, the governor, is popularly
elected to a 4-year term and may serve an unlimited number of terms.
Other state elected officials include the lieutenant governor (who
succeeds the governor upon the latter’s death, removal
from office, or incapacity to serve), attorney general, secretary
of state, and treasurer.
The bicameral Legislative Assembly of North Dakota consists
of a senate, with 53 members, and a house of representatives, with
106 members. Senators are normally elected to 4-year terms and representatives
to 2-year terms.
The highest court in North Dakota is the supreme court, which
has 5 members, elected to 10-year terms. The major trial courts
are the district courts, which have a combined total of 25 judges
elected to 6-year terms. Each of the state’s county courts
has one judge elected to a 4-year term. All judges in North Dakota
are elected on nonpartisan ballots.
In the early 1990s North Dakota had 53 counties, each of which was
governed by a board of commissioners. Other local officials, also
elected to 4-year terms, include the sheriff, clerk, and treasurer.
The state has 364 incorporated cities and 1352 townships.
North Dakota sends two senators and one representative to
the U.S. Congress and has three electoral votes in presidential
elections.
In national, state, and local politics, North Dakota
has traditionally been dominated by the Republican party. After 1960,
however, the Democrats made substantial gains in statewide contests. In
the early 2000s, Democrats held both of North Dakota's seats in the
U.S. Senate, along with the state's lone seat in the U.S. House of
Representatives, while Republicans controlled the governorship and both
houses of the state legislature. In presidential voting since 1940,
North Dakota has usually favored the Republican candidate.
Since its settlement by non-Indians in the mid-19th century,
North Dakota has had an economy dominated by agriculture, primarily
the growing of wheat and other grains. Mineral production became
increasingly important after 1951, with the tapping of the state’s
large petroleum reserves. Manufacturing, government (including military
installations), and tourism and other service industries have also
grown, giving the state a more diversified economic base.
| NORTH DAKOTA STATE ECONOMY (early 1990s) |
| STATE BUDGET |
|
| General revenue |
$1.6 billion |
| General expenditure |
$1.6 billion |
| Accumulated debt |
$872 million |
 |
| STATE AND LOCAL TAXES, PER CAPITA |
$1568 |
| PERSONAL INCOME, PER CAPITA |
$11,051 |
| POPULATION BELOW POVERTY LEVEL |
14.4% |
| ASSETS, INSURED COMMERCIAL BANKS (158) |
$7.0 billion |
|
| LABOR FORCE (CIVILIAN NONFARM) |
260,000 |
| Employed in wholesale and retail trade |
27% |
| Employed in services |
25% |
| Employed in government |
25% |
| Employed in manufacturing |
6% |
|
| MAJOR INDUSTRIES |
% CONTRIBUTED TO GSP* |
| Commercial, financial, and professional services |
51% |
| Government |
13% |
| Manufacturing and construction |
11% |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
11% |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries |
10% |
| Mining |
4% |
Gross State Product = total value of goods and services produced in a year.
Sources: U.S. government publications |
| PRINCIPAL PRODUCTS OF NORTH DAKOTA (early 1990s) |
|
Quantity Produced |
Value |
| FARM PRODUCTS |
|
$2.6 billion |
|
| CROPS |
|
$1.8 billion |
| Wheat |
10.5 million metric tons |
$953 million |
| Barley |
2.8 million metric tons |
$247 million |
| Hay |
3.4 million metric tons |
$238 million |
| Sunflowers |
699,000 metric tons |
$168 million |
| Sugar beets |
2.6 million metric tons |
$114 million |
| Potatoes |
684,000 metric tons |
$96 million |
|
| LIVESTOCK AND LIVESTOCK PRODUCTS |
|
$813 million |
| Cattle |
294,000 metric tons |
$604 million |
| Milk |
488,000 metric tons |
$134 million |
| Hogs |
40,000 metric tons |
$46 million |
|
| MINERALS |
|
$952 million |
| Petroleum |
36.7 million barrels |
$629 million |
| Coal |
26.8 million metric tons |
$218 million |
| Natural gas |
1.4 billion cu m |
$91 million |
|
|
|
Annual Payroll |
| MANUFACTURING |
|
$351 million |
| Industrial machinery and equipment |
|
$89 million |
| Food and kindred products |
|
$82 million |
| Printing and publishing |
|
$40 million |
| Transportation equipment |
|
$27 million |
| Electronic equipment |
|
$17 million |
| Stone,
clay, and glass products |
|
$13 million |
| Fabricated metal products |
|
$13 million |
| Lumber and wood products |
|
$12 million |
|
| OTHER |
|
$4.2 billion |
| Government |
|
$1.4 billion |
| Services |
|
$972 million |
| Retail trade |
|
$463 million |
| Wholesale trade |
|
$363 million |
| Transportation, communications, and public utilities |
|
$318 million |
| Finance,insurance, and real estate |
|
$243 million |
| Construction |
|
$219 million |
| Sources: U.S. government publications |
Farming accounts for more than 9% of the annual gross
state product in North Dakota. The state has some 33,000 farms,
which average 495 ha (1224 acres) in size. Crops account for about
69% of North Dakota’s yearly farm income. Wheat,
barley, hay, sunflowers, and sugar beets are leading crops. Wheat
is grown in all areas, but is especially important in the N. Other
crops include potatoes, rye, and flax. North Dakota leads the nation
in the production of durum and other spring wheat, as well as barley,
flax, and sunflowers. Irrigation agriculture is increasing in importance,
especially in the semiarid W along the Missouri R.
Livestock accounts for about 31% of the annual farm
income. Beef cattle are most important and are raised primarily
in the W; hogs, dairy cattle, and sheep are raised in the SE.
The mining industry accounts for about 4% of the
annual gross state product in North Dakota. Petroleum, which makes
up about two-thirds of the annual mineral value, is found primarily in
the W. Lignite, the second most important mineral, is strip-mined,
primarily in the W central part of the state. Natural gas is produced
in the SW and the NW. Other mineral products include sand and gravel,
clays, and lime.
Enterprises engaged in manufacturing account for about 6% of
the annual gross state product in North Dakota and employ some 16,000
workers. Measured by annual payroll, the leading industries in North
Dakota are the manufacture of industrial machinery, and food processing, followed
by printing and publishing. About one-sixth of the manufacturing
labor force is employed in producing industrial machinery, particularly
farm equipment. Among the principal food products are flour, cereals,
butter, cheese, and sugar (processed from sugar beets). Other important
manufactures are transportation equipment and electronic items.
North Dakota also has several oil refineries. Although manufacturing
has grown in importance, North Dakota still has one of the smallest
manufacturing outputs of any state.
Each year several million visitors produce in excess of $790
million for the North Dakota economy. Tourism has been growing rapidly
in the state, and the industry provides more than 16,000 jobs. Each
year about 500,000 persons visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The state also maintains a system of 18 park and recreation areas,
including Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, near Mandan.
A network of about 139,240 km (about 86,520 mi) of federal,
state, and local roads serves all parts of North Dakota. This figure
includes 919 km (571 mi) of interstate highways that cross the state
from E to W and from N to S along the E border, linking many of
the major cities. The railroad network throughout the state remains
relatively dense, with a total of approximately 5585 km (approximately
3470 mi) of Class I railroad track.
North Dakota has 467 airports and 7 heliports. The busiest
airport in the state is at Fargo; the air terminal serving Bismarck and Mandan is the second most important.
Electricity generating plants in North Dakota have a
total
capacity of about 4.5 million kw and produce approximately 26.8
billion kwh of electricity per year. The state has abundant and
diverse energy resources, including coal, petroleum, natural gas, and
waterpower. A substantial proportion of the electricity generated
in North Dakota is sold and exported to neighboring states. More
than 90% of North Dakota’s electricity is thermally
generated from fossil fuels. Virtually all the remainder is generated
by the hydroelectric power project located at Garrison Dam on the
Missouri R.
Mound Builders settled along the rivers of the eastern two-thirds
of present-day North Dakota about ad 1500. Beginning about
1700, the east was occupied by the Ojibwa and the Yanktonais Sioux.
Farther west the Teton branch of the Sioux nation roamed the plains.
Along the Missouri River, the sedentary Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa,
with their distinctive earth lodges and agriculture, contrasted
sharply with the Sioux, who followed the buffalo.
The first European known to have been in the area was the
Canadian explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La VÉrendrye,
who visited a Mandan village near what is now Bismarck in 1738.
In the ensuing period, fur traders from his posts in Canada dealt
with the Indians on the Red River of the North as far south as Grand
Forks. In the 1790s the Canadian North West Co. and Hudson’s
Bay Co. built trading posts on the Red River of the North in the
northeast corner of the state.
North Dakota became a U.S. possession as part of the
Louisiana
Purchase of 1803, but its boundary with Canada was not agreed on
until 1818. White settlement began in 1812, when people from the
Selkirk Settlement at Winnipeg founded a colony at Pembina. A community
of Indians and mÉtis (persons of mixed Indian and white
ancestry) grew up around the fur-trading posts. MÉtis staffed
the trains of carts carrying furs and merchandise between Winnipeg and
Saint Paul, Minn. After 1859, steamboats on the river sped such goods
between the two cities.
The Dakota Territory, which included North and South Dakota,
Wyoming, and Montana, was created in 1861. When warfare broke out
between the Sioux and white settlers in neighboring Minnesota the
following year, the Sioux sought refuge in the Dakota Territory,
but they were mostly confined to the area west of the Missouri River.
In the 1870s railroad links with St. Paul brought settlers
from the East, among them many Norwegian and German immigrants.
The bonanza farm craze of 1875-90 attracted so many settlers that
the state of North Dakota was created in 1889. Despite hard times,
the population grew. The Republican party, dominated by the political
boss Alexander McKenzie (1850–1922), controlled the state government
until 1906.
Continuing economic setbacks to farmers brought the Socialist-oriented
Nonpartisan League (NPL) to power in 1917. It created the state-owned
mill and elevator complex and the Bank of North Dakota, but was driven
from office in 1921. In the 1920s prices for farm crops dropped, and many banks failed. During the Great Depression of the 1930s
many people left the state; the economy was saved only by intervention
of the federal government. Prosperity returned during World War
II and continued into the 1960s. The energy crisis of the 1970s
led to a boom in oil and coal development in the western counties.
The one-party Republican character of politics altered somewhat
after 1960, when the Democratic-NPL party began a 20-year tenure
in the governor’s office. North Dakota’s population
declined in the 1980s and in 1990 it was smaller than it had been
in 1920. The state suffered extensive damage in the great floods
of the Missouri River and its tributaries in 1993; flooding of the
Red River of the North and its tributaries in April 1997 also damaged
many rural areas.