| Capital
Pierre |
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| Nickname
The Mount Rushmore State |
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| Motto
“Under God the People Rule” |
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| Admitted To Union
November 2, 1889 — 40th State |
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| Size
77,121 square miles |
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| Highest Point
Black Elk Peak; 7,242 feet |
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| Lowest Point
Big Stone Lake; 962 feet |
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| Geographic Center
Hughes, 8 miles northeast of Pierre |
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| Topography
Prairie in the east; rolling hills of the Great Plains in the west; Black Hills in the southwest. |
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| Population
(2016 census) 865,454 |
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| State Flower
Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla hirsutissima) |
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| State Mammal
Coyote |
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| State Bird
Ring-necked Pheasant |
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| State Tree
Black Hills Spruce (Picea glauca) |
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| State Song
Hail, South Dakota |
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| State Mineral
Rose Quartz |
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| State Gemstone
Fairburn Agate |
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| State Jewelry | |
| State Fish
Walleye |
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| State Fossil
Triceratops |
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| Largest Cities
Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Aberdeen, Watertown, Brookings, Mitchell, Pierre, Yankton, Huron, Vermillion |
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| Economy
Agriculture: Cattle, hogs, wheat, soybeans, milk, corn |
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| Industry
Food processing, lumber and wood products, tourism |
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| Flag
The South Dakota flag features the state seal surrounded by a golden blazing sun in a field of sky blue. Letters reading “South Dakota, The Mount Rushmore State” — the official state nickname — are arranged in a circle around the sun. |
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| Origin of state’s name
Dakota is the Sioux Indian word for “friend” |
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Famous South Dakotans |
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| Sparky Anderson – baseball manager, Bridgewater
Catherine Bach – actress, Faith/Rapid City L. Frank Baum – newspaper editor, author, Aberdeen Black Elk – Oglala chief Bob Barker – Game Show Host, Mission Tom Brokaw – TV newscaster, Webster-Yankton Shawn Colvin – singer, Vermillion Tom Daschle – U.S. Senator, Aberdeen Vine Deloria – author, professor, Martin Myron Floren – accordionist, Roslyn Joe Foss – WWII pilot, Governor, NFL commissioner, Sioux Falls Paul Goble – author, illustrator, Rapid City Dick Green – MLB Baseball player, Rapid City Becky Hammon – WNBA player, Rapid City Mary Hart – TV personality, Sioux Falls Linda Hasselstrom – rancher/author, Hermosa Crazy Horse – Oglala chief Hubert H. Humphrey – senator and vice president, Wallace Roy Braxton Justus – cartoonist, Avon Cheryl Ladd – actress, Huron Randy Lewis – Olympic Gold medalist/wrestling, Rapid City |
Russell Means – American Indian activist, Pine Ridge
George McGovern – Senator/presidential candidate, Avon Billy Mills – Olympic Gold Medalist, Pine Ridge Allen Newharth – USA Today founder, Eureka Kathleen Norris – author, Lemmon Pat O’Brien – TV personality, Sioux Falls Dorothy Provine – actress, Deadwood Rain-in-the-Face – Hunkpapa Sioux chief Red Cloud – Oglala Sioux chief Sitting Bull – Hunkpapa Sioux chief Casey Tibbs – Bronc Rider, rodeo promoter, Ft. Pierre Norm Van Brocklin – football player, Parade Mamie Van Doren – actress, Rowena Adam Vinateri – NFL kicker, Yankton/Rapid City Laura Ingalls Wilder – pioneer and writer, DeSmet |