North Dakota . . . State 39
North Dakota's state flag was adopted by the Legislative Assembly on March 3, 1911. A dark blue field displays a Bald Eagle grasping an olive branch and a bundle of arrows in its claws. The eagle carries a ribbon with the words "One nation made up of many states." On its breast is a shield with thirteen stripes representing the original thirteen states. The fan-shaped design above the eagle represents the birth of the United States and included thirteen stars echoing the thirteen stripes on the shield. The red scroll below the eagle displays the state name, North Dakota.
North Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889 as the 39th state. The capital is Bismarck and largest city is Fargo. North Dakota lies in the Great Plains in the northern United States. It is on the Canadian border and got its name from the Sioux Indians who lived on the plains before the Europeans arrived. It is a rectangular state located midway along the border between the US and Canada. It is bordered on the west by Montana, the south by South Dakota, and on the north by Canada. To the east, the border is the Red River which separates North Dakota from Minnesota. The population of North Dakota is only about 640,000 which is the 3rd lowest in the country. Most of the population lives in small urban areas of about 2500 people.
North Dakota is both rural and agricultural, with many large grain farms and cattle ranches. It has vast open prairies and about 90 percent of the land is in cropland and pastures and about one fifth of the state's workers are employed on farms. North Dakota is the leading producer of wheat and the main flax-growing, barely and rye producer.
Economy:
North Dakota Agriculture: Wheat, cattle,
barley, sunflowers, milk, sugar
beets.
North Dakota Industry: Food processing, machinery, mining and tourism.
North Dakota has a dry, continental climate with four distinct seasons. North Dakota has low humidity, lots of sunshine and light to moderate precipitation with average annual rainfall of only 17 inches. The winters are severe and the average temperature is only 11 degrees and summer about 64 degrees. Out of the north western states North Dakota has the shortest growing season and least amount of rainfall.
North Dakota has 53
counties:
Adams - Barnes
- Benson - Billings
- Bottineau - Bowman
- Burke - Burleigh
- Cass - Cavalier
- Dickey - Divide
- Dunn - Eddy - Emmons -
Foster - Golden Valley
- Grand Forks - Grant -
Griggs - Hettinger -
Kidder - La Moure -
Logan - McHenry -
McIntosh - McKenzie -
McLean - Mercer -
Morton - Mountrail - Nelson
- Oliver - Pembina
- Pierce - Ramsey
- Ransom - Renville
- Richland - Rolette
- Sargent - Sheridan
- Sioux - Slope
- Stark - Steele
- Stutsman - Towner
- Traill - Walsh
- Ward - Wells
- Williams
