World Country Guide

General Information

Nickname
Mount Rushmore State

State bird
Ring-necked Pheasant

State flower
American Pasque Flower

Capital
Pierre

Date of admission to the Union
November 2 1889

Population
770,883 (official estimate 2004)

Population density
17 per sq km

2003 total overseas arrivals
Under 38,000

Time
Central (GMT - 6) in the eastern part of the State; Mountain (GMT - 7) in the west. Daylight Saving Time is observed.

The State
Tucked into the heart of the USA, the ‘Mount Rushmore State’ offers untouched nature in abundance, vast stretches of fertile prairies and early pioneer towns. Near the eastern border, Sioux Falls is the largest city in the region, and boasts its namesake waterfall, as well as the Center for Western Studies, the Old Courthouse Museum, St Joseph’s Cathedral and the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science. On the opposite side of the State, Rapid City is the gateway to the Black Hills, with mountains, caves, forests and lakes; Wind Cave National Park; and Custer State Park, with its herd of over 1500 bison. Jewel Cave National Monument, the third-longest cave in the world, is also located at Custer.
Also in South Dakota’s southwest corner is its biggest tourist attraction by far, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where the 18m- (60ft-) high heads of four US presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln) have been blasted and carved out of the mountain. Work began on this massive ‘Shrine of Democracy’ in 1927 and took 14 years to complete. In the Black Hills, the Crazy Horse Memorial, a privately funded monument, is the world’s largest mountain sculpture in progress. The upper half of the 22-storey high horses head is a memorial honouring the North American Indian, standing 171m- (563ft-) high and 195m- (641ft-) long. The excellent Indian Museum of North America is located at Crazy Horse Memorial and is well worth a visit.
Just to the south, the community of Hot Springs is home to Evans Plunge, the world’s largest naturally heated swimming pool and The Mammoth Site, the world’s largest concentration of Columbian and woolly mammoth bones discovered in their primary context (ie where they died). Badlands National Park encompasses 98,785 hectares (244,000 acres) of striking rock formations – steep canyons, jagged spires, bands of colourful rocks – blended with mixed-grass prairies. Campgrounds and cabins are available to visitors. Pierre, the capital of South Dakota, is home to numerous attractions, including the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center, South Dakota National Guard Museum, South Dakota State Capitol and the South Dakota World War II Memorial. Some 48km (30 miles) north of Fort Pierre is Triple U Buffalo Ranch, the location of many scenes in the film Dances with Wolves.