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Introduction
South Dakota, state in the north-central United States. South Dakota is generally regarded as partly but not wholly in the Midwest. The east, with its flat or rolling lands and fertile soils, resembles portions of other states in the Midwest. However, the western section lies on the Great Plains. The state is mainly an agricultural region. Farmland covers much of the fertile areas east of the Missouri River, which divides the state, and vast stretches of rangeland extend westward from its banks. Manufacturing and commercial activities are based in large part on the output of agricultural produce. Farming is central to South Dakota's way of life, but in the late 1990s tourism, gambling, and other recreational services were of increasing importance to its economy; visitors are attracted by unique natural features such as the Black Hills and Badlands. Pierre is South Dakota's capital. Sioux Falls is the largest city. The name Dakota is derived from a Sioux term meaning friends or allies. It was first applied to a United States territory in 1861. When South Dakota entered the Union on November 2, 1889, as the 40th state, its people chose to keep the name. South Dakota is called the Mount Rushmore State, after the national memorial of that name located in its southwest corner.
Physical Geography
South Dakota ranks 17th in size among the states. It covers 199,742 sq km (77,121 sq mi), including 3,173 sq km (1,225 sq mi) of inland water. The state's extreme dimensions are about 395 km (about 245 mi) from north to south and about 610 km (about 380 mi) from east to west. The mean elevation is 670 m (2,200 ft).
Natural Regions
Portions of two major natural regions of the western United States cover South Dakota: the Central Lowland and the Great Plains. In South Dakota, the Great Plains cover the western and central sections of the state and include the Black Hills. The Central Lowland covers the eastern part of the state. The boundary between these two natural regions follows the eastern edge of the glaciated sections of the Missouri Plateau, a belt of low hills, known as the Coteau du Missouri, that extends in a north to south direction across South Dakota about midway between the Missouri and the James rivers. The Central Lowlands in South Dakota, like adjoining sections of Iowa and Minnesota, were covered by extensive ice sheets during the course of the last Ice Age, which ended about 10,000 years ago. Its present physical features are the result of repeated glaciation during the Ice Age and the subsequent changes produced by wind and water erosion. The Central Lowlands comprise the eastern one-third of South Dakota, and are made up of seven subregions. In the northeastern corner is the Minnesota River-Red River Lowland, a broad shallow river valley, once part of the great glacial Lake Agassiz. This subregion contains lakes Traverse and Big Stone, and at 294 m (966 ft), has the lowest elevation in the state. The Coteau des Prairies, also on the eastern state border, is a massive highland area drained by the Big Sioux River and covered with glacial drift. West of the coteau is the James River Lowland, a broad area carved by ancient streams, then glaciated and now drained by the James River. The James is the longest nonnavigable river in North America. At the northern end of the lowland is a subregion known as the Lake Dakota Plain. This plain was once the bed of ancient glacial Lake Dakota. At the southern end of the lowlands is the James River Highlands, a group of three ridges of drift-covered bedrock known as Turkey, James, and Yankton ridges. In the extreme southeastern corner is the Eastern Section of the Southern Plateau. This is a stream-dissected highland made of a thick mantle of loessial (wind blown) soils that extends into neighboring Iowa. Finally, the southern boundary of the Central Lowland province is the southern section of the deeply cut Missouri River Trench, a flat, wide river trench. The western two-thirds of South Dakota is part of the Great Plains. It is divided into two regions, the Missouri Plateau and the Black Hills. The Missouri Plateau is comprised of six subregions. The easternmost subregion is the Coteau du Missouri. It is located directly west of the James River Lowland. The Coteau du Missouri is an unevenly dissected highland covered with glacial drift, and contains several massive ridges and broad abandoned stream valleys. It marks the western extent of glaciation. West of that subregion is the Missouri River Trench, a narrow, steep river valley now occupied by four large reservoirs. West of the Missouri River are four other Missouri Plateau subregions. From north to south they are: the Northern Plateaus, a series of step-like terraces that rise westward from the Missouri River and are marked by butte formations; the Pierre Hills, an area of smooth rounded hills of Pierre Shale or gumbo soil; the Southern Plateau, a zone of young rocks, mesas, and buttes, where streams have cut deep gorges, and water and wind have carved the famous White River Badlands; and on the extreme south, the Sandhills, a 1,000-sq km (400-sq mi) extension of the Nebraska Sandhills. The Black Hills are a region that was formed by mountain building forces at the same time the Rocky Mountains were formed. Originally, the Black Hills were three times their present height. The region is comprised of four subregions, three of which encircle a central core. The Great Hogbacks form the outer wall or ring of the Black Hills. It is a residual hogback ridge with steep inside cliffs of sandstone. Inside the Hogbacks lies the Red Valley (or racecourse) a broad open valley that gets its name from the red soil layer, and circles the hills. The next circular subregion is the Limestone Plateau. The Plateau is the highest part of the hills, with deep cut stream canyons, including the beautiful Spearfish Canyon and numerous caves. The core of the Black Hills is comprised of the Central Crystalline Basin. This basin is the heart of the hills. It is a highland area with mountain peaks and gulches, carved from crystalline rock. Harney Peak, reaching an elevation of 2,207 m (7,242 ft) and the state's highest point, is in this subregion.
Climate
The state as a whole has hot summers and cold winters. The Black Hills are generally cooler and wetter than the surrounding plains area. Average January temperatures are everywhere less than -4° C (24° F) and decrease to less than -12° C (10° F) in some northern sections. The January temperatures in Sioux Falls range from -16° to -4° C (3° to 24° F). Nightime lows of -29° C (-20° F) occur during most winters. July averages are in the low and middle 20°s C (low and middle 70°s F) throughout most of the state, and are somewhat lower in the Black Hills. The average temperature range in Sioux Falls in July is 17° to 30° C (62° to 86° F). Average annual precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) increases from roughly west to east, ranging from about 330 mm (about 13 in) in the northwest to about 630 mm (about 25 in) in the southeast. The Black Hills receive an average of between 360 and 610 mm (14 and 24 in) of precipitation a year. However, precipitation varies considerably from year to year, and prolonged droughts can occur, especially in the western and central areas. Fortunately, three-fourths of all precipitation falls as rain during the crop-growing season. The growing season, or period between the last killing frost in spring and the first killing frost in fall, increases from under 120 days in the northwest to 150 days in the southeast. In the valleys of the Black Hills the growing season totals as little as 101 days. The last killing frost occurs in early May in the south, about three weeks later in the north, and often as late as June in the Black Hills. The first killing frost in fall occurs in August or early September in the Black Hills and at the end of September or in early October elsewhere.
Plant Life
Wooded or forested areas occupy just 3 percent of the state's total land area. Most of these areas are in the Black Hills National Forest. Ponderosa pine, spruce, aspen, and birch are the principal tree species of the Black Hills area, with ponderosa pine accounting for about 90 percent of the national forest. Elsewhere in the state, cottonwood trees are found along the Missouri and other rivers. A large variety of deciduous and coniferous trees are found in shelter belts throughout the state. Flowering plants found in the lake region of the northeast include the wild rose, buttercup, primrose, pink beard-tongue, blazing star, violet, and yellow violet. In other eastern areas are found the blackeyed Susan and wild orange geranium. On the plateau west of the Missouri grow the gumbo lily, the yucca, and a yellow-blossomed cactus. In the Black Hills are found the iris, wood orchid, bluebell, yellow lady's-slipper, larkspur, prickly poppy, and Mariposa lily.
Animal Life
Wildlife in South Dakota has been greatly reduced as a result of extensive human settlement. The great herds of bison that once roamed the plains are now restricted to preserves and private ranches. One of the largest herds in the world has been preserved in Custer State Park. Populations of coyote, the state animal, declined in the mid-1900s but have grown tremendously in recent years. Elk (wapiti) and white-tailed deer are still to be found in the Black Hills, as are the mountain goat, bighorn sheep, and ferral burros. Smaller mammals in the Black Hills include the bobcat, beaver, porcupine, and red squirrel. Antelope, mule deer, white-tailed deer, jackrabbit, coyote, kit fox, raccoon, and prairie dogs are common on the plains. Jackrabbit, white-tailed deer, and gophers are found in the prairies of the east. Among the numerous species of birds found in the state are the western meadowlark, northern flicker, American goldfinch, belted kingfisher, American robin, brown thrasher, redwing blackbird, yellow-headed blackbird, Chinese pheasant, Hungarian partridge (or gray partridge), and Chinese ring-necked pheasant, which is the state bird. Sage grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, prairie chickens, and wild turkeys are found on the prairies and plains, but are most abundant in the Black Hills. Walleye, northern pike, smallmouth black bass, and other game fish are found in the lakes of the northeast. Walleye and northern pike are also found in the Missouri River reservoirs, along with maintained populations of salmon. Brook, rainbow, and brown trout thrive in the streams of the Black Hills. Catfish are common in the state's rivers.
Economic Activities
Since the area's early settlement in the mid-19th century, South Dakota's economy has been based on cultivating the fertile soils in the east and ranching on the abundant grazing lands of the west. Mining first became important in the 1870s with the discovery of the Homestake Lode in the Black Hills. Manufacturing has increased in importance, and has diversified from its former dominance by the processing of primary products, such as foodstuffs and lumber. The state is also a national leader in the production of storm doors, computers, scoreboards, and medical products. Tourism, gambling, and other service industries, transportation, and commerce also play important parts in the state's economy. Sioux Falls and Rapid City are the principal trade centers in South Dakota. South Dakota had a work force of 400,000 in 1999. Of those the largest share, 27 percent, worked in service industries, such as restaurants and data processing. Another 22 percent were employed in wholesale or retail trade; 14 percent in federal, state, or local government, including those serving in the military; 10 percent in manufacturing; 9 percent in farming (including agricultural services) or forestry; 7 percent in finance, insurance, or real estate; 5 percent in construction; 4 percent in transportation or public utilities; and just 0.5 percent in mining. In 1998, 6 percent of South Dakota's workers were unionized.
Population Patterns
According to the 1990 census, South Dakota ranked 45th among the states, with a population of 696,004. This represented an increase of 0.8 percent over the 1980 figure. The population estimate for 1999 was 733,133. The average population density for the state is only 3.7 persons per sq km (9.7 per sq mi). This makes South Dakota the second least densely populated state east of the Rockies, greater than only neighboring North Dakota. Most South Dakotans live in the southeast. South Dakota is also one of the least urbanized states. In 1990 only 50 percent of the state's residents lived in urban areas, and half the state's population lived within 120 km (75 mi) of the eastern border. Whites constituted 91.5 percent of the population in 1990. Native Americans, most of whom are of the Dakota (Sioux) people, were 7.2 percent of the population, blacks 0.5 percent, Asian or Pacific Islanders 0.5 percent, and those of mixed heritage or not reporting ethnicity 0.3 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 0.8 percent of the people.
Principal Cities
Sioux Falls, located on the Big Sioux River in southeastern South Dakota, is the largest city in the state, with a population (1998 estimate) of 116,762. It is primarily a commercial, medical, trade, manufacturing, and transportation center. Rapid City is the second largest city, with 57,513 inhabitants. It is the leading commercial center in western South Dakota, including the Black Hills area. Aberdeen, with 24,865 inhabitants, is the principal commercial center serving the James River area in northeastern South Dakota. Watertown, with 19,909 inhabitants, is a marketing and food-processing center in the eastern half of the state. Brookings, which has a population of 17,138, is noted as the seat of South Dakota State University. Mitchell, with a population of 14,386, and Huron, with a population of 11,778, serve as commercial centers in eastern South Dakota. Pierre, the state capital, has 13,267 inhabitants.
Education
A sod schoolhouse was erected in Bon Homme County in 1860, and the first permanent schoolhouse in the region was built in Vermillion in the winter of 1864-1865. In 1862 the first legislature of the Dakota Territory passed a law establishing a school code. James S. Foster, the first territorial superintendent of public instruction, established a school system in 1864 based on that of New England. School attendance is compulsory in South Dakota for all children between the ages of 6 and 16, although there are provisions that allow children to leave after the eighth grade. In addition to public schools, there are a number of parochial and other private schools in the state, educating 9 percent of South Dakota's children. In the 1995-1996 school year South Dakota spent $4,780 on each student's education, compared to a national average of $6,146. There were 14.9 students for every teacher (the national average was 17.1 students per teacher). Of those older than 25 years of age in 1998, 86.3 percent had a high school diploma, while the country as a whole averaged 82.8 percent.
Higher Education
The first college established in South Dakota was Yankton College, which was founded by a Congregationalist group in 1881 and until its closure in 1984 was the oldest institution of higher education in the state. There are 10 public and 13 private institutions. South Dakota State University (1881) in Brookings is the largest university in the state. The others include the University of South Dakota (1862), in Vermillion; Dakota State University (1881), in Madison; Black Hills State University (1883), in Spearfish; South Dakota School of Mines (1885), in Rapid City; and Northern State University (1899), in Aberdeen. Other significant schools include Huron University (1883), in Huron; Augustana College (1860), in Sioux Falls; National College (1941), in Rapid City; Mount Marty College (1936), in Yankton; and Dakota Wesleyan University (1885), in Mitchell.
Recreation and Places of Interest
South Dakota offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities. The state has many scenic areas. The two major recreational areas are the Black Hills, in the west, and the lakes region, in the east.
Annual Events
The Black Hills Passion Play, which is performed near Spearfish, attracts large audiences each summer. Other popular summer attractions in the Black Hills resort area include a play entitled Trial of Jack McCall, a realistic enactment of the court trial of Jack McCall for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok, which is performed daily in Deadwood. The Brookings Summer Arts Festival held every July is the region's largest art show. Various annual activities commemorate events in South Dakota's frontier past. For example, early in July, the Black Hills Roundup, one of the West's best known and oldest rodeos, is held at Belle Fourche. Later in the month, Gold Discovery Days pageant is held in Custer. Days of '76 Festival, featuring a rodeo and scenes of the gold rush in the Black Hills, is celebrated in Deadwood in the first week of August. In the third week the Sioux Empire Fair is held in Sioux Falls. The annual State Fair is held at Huron beginning in late August. The Corn Palace Festival is held at Mitchell in late September. The Spearfish Motorcycle Rally attracts more than 250,000 people to that city each August.
Government
South Dakota's present state constitution was adopted in 1889, and has been amended many times. Amendments may be proposed by the state legislature, by initiative, or by a constitutional convention. In order to be adopted, a proposed amendment must be placed on the ballot in a regular state-wide election and then be approved by a majority of the citizens voting on the proposal. The governor, who is the state's chief executive, is elected for a four-year term and may serve no more than two terms consecutively. The governor is responsible for the preparation of the state budget and has the power to veto proposed legislation or individual items of appropriations measures. However, the state legislature can override the governor's vetoes by a two-thirds vote of the legislators elected to membership in each house. The governor also appoints many of the state's major administrative officials. State government officials other than the governor who are elected are the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor, and commissioner of school and public lands. All are elected for four-year terms. The lieutenant governor, like the governor, may serve no more than two terms consecutively. In 1999 William J. Janklow, a Republican, was governor. The state legislature of South Dakota consists of a Senate of 35 members and a House of Representatives of 70 members. All state legislators are elected for two-year terms. Regular sessions of the legislature are convened annually in January. Regular sessions are limited to 45 legislative days in odd years and 30 legislative days in even years. The governor may also call special sessions. South Dakota's highest court, the Supreme Court, is made up of five judges elected on nonpartisan ballots for eight-year terms. The chief justice is chosen by a majority of the members of the court for four-year renewable terms. The next highest courts are the circuit courts, whose judges are elected on nonpartisan ballots for eight-year terms. Lower courts include county courts and municipal courts. There are 66 counties in South Dakota. They include the three unorganized counties of Shannon, Todd, and Washabaugh, which are taken up by Native American reservations. The main governing body in each organized county is a board of commissioners, the members of which are elected for four-year terms. Other elected county officers include the auditor, treasurer, register of deeds, states attorney, and sheriff. All are elected for staggered four-year terms. There are more than 300 municipalities in South Dakota. Most of them have the mayor and council form of government. South Dakota elects two U.S. senators. The state elects one member to the House of Representatives and casts three electoral votes in Presidential elections.
State Fiscal Policy
A lending spree by state officials after World War I followed by bankruptcies among South Dakota's farmers and ranchers in the 1920s placed a heavy economic burden on taxpayers that lasted until the 1950s. As a result, South Dakotans have elected economic conservatives to state governmental offices, who have tried to maintain a balanced budget without raising taxes. After experiments with a modest income tax (from 1933 to 1943), and a personal property tax (finally repealed in 1978), state leaders have restricted revenue-raising mainly to taxes on real estate, spending, and licensing. To keep money in the treasury, officials ran some state-owned businesses. In the fiscal year 1992, for example, a state-owned cement plant at Rapid City brought a profit of $7.5 million; four state-owned resorts produced gross receipts of $4 million; and the state treasury received nearly $37 million from a video-lottery system, and in 1995 the lottery raised more than $60 million. As a consequence, early in the 1990s South Dakota had a reputation as being among the most lenient of the 50 states in terms of tax burdens on individuals and corporations.
Federal Resources
Like other Western states, South Dakota has increased its dependence on federal resources. Federal contributions to the state grew from approximately 20 percent of the state budget in 1952 to nearly 40 percent by 1994. Most important have been federal funds to build and maintain highways; to support education; to aid senior citizens, dependent children, and handicapped citizens; to improve flood control; to facilitate airport construction; and to improve public health. Based mainly on the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, which provided for government price-support payments, subsidies to farmers and ranchers rose sharply from an aggregate of $94.9 million in 1977 to $436 million in 1994. South Dakota has also benefited from the operation of military bases and other federal agencies. Most prominent since 1940 have been the U.S. Air Force at the Ellsworth Strategic Air Command Base at Rapid City, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Internal Revenue Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps of Engineers built four of the six main dams along the Missouri River. These dams have earned a profit for the federal government since 1983 and have stabilized management of the Missouri River and substantially increased tourism to the state. Federal resources have also been important for building roads in a state that encompasses about 20 million hectares (50 million acres). Beginning with the Federal Highway Act of 1916 and followed by the Federal Highway acts of 1944, 1948, and 1956, federal officials have matched state contributions to construct and maintain state roads. Nevertheless, South Dakota spent millions to put into place a complete road system of more than 130,353 km (81,000 mi) by 1980. The key to the lasting flow of federal resources has been an able congressional delegation. South Dakotans, while electing fiscal conservatives to state governmental positions, have been steady in their commitment to elect federal politicians who believe in government aid programs. This particular strategy has allowed the state to balance its accounts.
Demographic and Political Changes
Since 1940 the long time spent in office by most politicians suggests general satisfaction among voters. A subtle but important change in constituencies began in the early 1960s, when for the first time the population of South Dakota became more urban than rural. Until then, the only woman who had risen to prominence in political life had been Gladys Pyle, who was elected South Dakota secretary of state in 1926 and was a U.S. senator for a brief period from 1938 to 1939. In the 1960s, however, South Dakotans began to elect women not only to state legislative seats, but also to positions of importance in state and local administrations.
Native Americans
Native Americans constitute about 10 percent of the population of South Dakota. The Sioux peoples survived the Great Depression, like others, largely because of federal aid. But in 1953 the United States Congress decided to begin withdrawing all federal support and responsibility for Native American affairs (a policy called termination), arguing that Native Americans should be treated exactly as all other citizens. South Dakota reservation populations dwindled. In 1970 President Richard M. Nixon officially repudiated termination as a policy. The Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 authorized the federal employment of tribal governments to take over functions previously performed by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Indian Freedom of Religion Act of 1978 encouraged the reemergence of Native American cultural traditions. These developments through the 1960s and 1970s reversed the decline of reservation populations as rapidly as economic resources would allow. For many tribes, gambling casinos supplied an attractive answer. As an example, money generated by the Yankton after it opened the Fort Randall Casino has helped the Yankton begin to build a more diversified economy on the reservation. Native peoples have also taken advantage of federal farming and ranching subsidies, and except for an exclusion from taxation on lands under federal trust, they have paid taxes like all other citizens. On February 27, 1973, armed supporters of the American Indian Movement, a Native American civil rights group, seized and held Wounded Knee, South Dakota, demanding a U.S. Senate investigation of Native American problems. During an exchange of gunfire with federal law enforcement officers, two Native Americans were killed and several people on both sides were injured. The siege ended 70 days later after the Native Americans were promised that negotiations would be considered, but after one meeting with White House representatives no further meetings took place. In 1979 the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the Sioux Nation was entitled to $122.5 million in compensation for the illegal seizure of the Black Hills, and in 1980 the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the verdict. The Oglala Sioux then chose to sue the government independently for $11 billion, but the lawsuit was dismissed in 1980 and an appeals court agreed with that decision in 1982. Mainly, the original owners of the Great Sioux Reservation demanded the return of federal land in the Black Hills area as well as the financial settlement, which with interest now approaches $500 million. The nations have taken the battle for compensation to the U.S. Congress.
"South Dakota," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2000 http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2000 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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