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Map of South Dakota (SD)


Black Hills seen from Black Elk Peak in South Dakota
The Black Hills, an island of rock thrusting out from an ocean of the surrounding prairie, seen from Black Elk Peak (aka Harney Peak), South Dakota's highest point at 2,208 m (7,244 ft).
Image: Navin75



South Dakota Flag
South Dakota State Flag
 

About South Dakota


Location map of South Dakota state in the United States
Where in the United States is South Dakota? Location map of South Dakota in the US.

 
South Dakota is a landlocked Midwestern state in the Great Plains region of the US mainland. It borders North Dakota to the north, Nebraska to the south, Minnesota to the east, Iowa in the southeast, and Wyoming and Montana to the west.

South Dakota is divided into 66 counties.

The United States acquired almost all of the area of South Dakota from France in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
In 1889 the Dakota Territory was split in two and divided into North and South, later in the year on 2nd November 1889 South Dakota, together with North Dakota, was admitted to the Union.

 
South Dakota State Map
Reference Map of South Dakota
General Map of South Dakota, United States.

The detailed map shows the US state of South Dakota with boundaries, the location of the state capital Pierre, major cities and populated places, rivers and lakes, interstate highways, principal highways, and railroads.

You are free to use this map for educational purposes (fair use); please refer to the Nations Online Project.
 
More about South Dakota State



Some Geography

Area
South-Dakota Topographic Regions Map
Topographic Map of South Dakota showing the location of the Black Hills, the Missouri Plateau, and the Coteau des Prairies. (click map to enlarge)
 
The state covers an area of 199,730 km² (77,116 sq mi), [1] in comparison, it is about twice as large as Iceland or South Korea. Compared with other US states, South Dakota is almost nine times larger than New Jersey, but it would fit into Texas three and a half times.


Rivers
The Missouri is the longest river in North America; it flows north to south through the center of South Dakota. Near the state capital Pierre, the river turns southeast, and further downstream, it forms a section of the state border with Nebraska.

The principal western feeder rivers of the Missouri in South Dakota (from north to south) are the Grand River, the Moreau River, the Cheyenne River, the Bad River, and the White River.
The James River (aka Dakota River) is another tributary of the Missouri; it flows from north to south and drains the lowlands of the Dakotas. The Big Sioux River in eastern South Dakota rises in the Coteau des Prairies and generally flows southward; it forms the state's border with Iowa in the southeast and empties into the Missouri.

Buffalo in the Great Plains of South Dakota
Buffalo in the Great Plains of South Dakota.
Image: Jerry and Pat Donaho
 
South Dakota's landscape in the east is dominated by the Coteau des Prairies, an upland (plateau) with numerous small glacial lakes. The plateau is 320 km long and 160 km wide (200 mi by 100 mi); it is separated by the James River Basin from the Coteau du Missouri, also known as the Missouri Plateau. The plateau represents a typical landscape of the Great Plains, with low, undulating rolling hills, potholes, grasslands, and incised stream valleys.

In the southwest are the geographical highlights of South Dakota, the Badlands, and the Black Hills. The Black Hills is a small, isolated mountain range with towering rocks and ponderosa pines rising from the Great Plains, for the Sioux and Cheyenne people the sacred center of the world.


Highest Point
The state's highest point is Black Elk Peak (formerly known as Harney Peak) at an elevation of 2,207 m (7,242 ft), situated in the Black Elk Wilderness area of the Black Hills.

 
South Dakota National Parks


Welcome to South Dakota Sign with image of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Welcome to South Dakota – Great Faces • Great Places. The sign features an image of the Mount Rushmore Memorial.
Image: Dominik "Dome"



 
Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Four miles to the east of Black Elk Peak is the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. It features some 18 m (60 ft) high sculptures of the heads of four United States presidents. The project of carving Rushmore was undertaken to increase tourism in the Black Hills region.

The United States seized the area of previously granted land from the Lakota tribe after the Great Sioux War of 1876. To the Plains Indians, the Black Hills area is sacred. The remote wilderness became of sudden interest for the White Men when gold was found in the 1870s. When the miners left some years later, the region’s economy sagged. To crank up tourism to the remote area, an idea was born, carve one of the oldest rock on Earth into a national monument.
Work began in 1927 under the direction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum and a ceremony overseen by then President Calvin Coolidge. In 1941 the monument was (more or less) completed. For the local Indians, it was a desecration of their sacred lands. [2][3][4]

 
Badlands

Badlands of South Dakota, Badlands National Park
Badlands of South Dakota.
Image: Kimon Berlin
 
The Badlands in southwestern South Dakota is an amazing collection of eroded buttes, pinnacles, spires, and the largest undisturbed mixed grass prairie in the United States. The White River Badlands are a significant paleontological resource; they contain the largest assemblage of known late Eocene (56 to 33.9 million years ago) and Oligocene (33.9 million to 23 million years ago) mammal fossils.



Wind Cave National Park, one of the longest and most complex caves in the world-famous for its net-like limestone formations called boxwork.
(www.nps.gov/wica/)

 
Population

South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre, capital city of South Dakota
3D image of South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre, the state capital. The building houses the South Dakota State Legislature.
Image: Google Earth
 
South Dakota has a population of just 884,000 people (2019 est.) [5], making it the third-least populated US state. It is the state with the third-highest American Indian population in the US (9.0%; see below).

The state capital is Pierre; the largest city is Sioux Falls, the largest urban area is Sioux Falls metro area (pop. 268,000 in 2019).



Race and Ethnic groups
The population of South Dakota is composed of Caucasian 81.4%, Native American 9.0%, Hispanic or Latino 4.1%, African American 2.4%, and Asian 1.7%. [6]

The busiest airports in the state are Sioux Falls Regional Airport (IATA code: FSD), and Rapid City Regional Airport (IATA code: RAP).


Big Sioux River Fall, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls' main attraction, the Big Sioux River Fall in South Dakota. The building to the left is the replica of the long-gone turbine house for a water-powered wheat-grinding machine.
Image: PunkToad
 
Cities and Towns in South Dakota

The map above shows the location of following cities and towns in South Dakota:

Largest cities in South Dakota with a population of more than 20,000:
Sioux Falls (pop. 174,000), Rapid City (74,000), Aberdeen (28,400), Brookings (24,000), Watertown (22,200)
Population figures in 2017

Other cities and towns in South Dakota:
Belle Fourche, Bison, Box Elder, Buffalo, Canton, Chamberlain, Custer, De Smet, Deadwood, Dell Rapids, Dupree, Edgemont, Faulkton, Fort Pierre, Gettysburg, Hot Springs, Huron, Ipswich, Kadoka, Lake Andes, Lead, Lemmon, Madison, Martin, McIntosh, Milbank, Miller, Mission, Mitchell, Mobridge, Murdo, Olivet, Philip, Pierre, Pine Ridge, Plankinton, Redfield, Selby, Sisseton, Spearfish, Sturgis, Timber Lake, Vermillion, Webster, Winner, and Yankton.


 

Weather Conditions Sioux Falls:

SIOUX FALLS WEATHER
 


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