Its motto: Under God the People Rule.

Its nicknames: Artesian State, Blizzard State, Coyote State,

Land of Infinite Variety, Sunshine State.

Black Hills, Badlands, and Wide Open Spaces

South Dakota is a land of bewildering variety and breathtaking extremes. Here are limitless expanses of space and very few people, sweeping treeless plains and steep forested mountains, sunny skies and torrential rains, rich farmland and uninhabitable badlands, scorching heat and bone-chilling cold, soothing silence and historic strife. This giant land — the size of Ohio and Indiana combined — is so thinly populated that cattle outnumber people five to one.

In South Dakota the sun shines brightly and cheerfully almost every day; yet monstrous thunderstorms can appear out of nowhere. In summer 100-degree temperatures are not uncommon, but in winter the thermometer plunges well below zero, ushering in ground-splittinga frosts and arctic blizzards.

Rectangular South Dakota is sliced through the middle by the mighty Missouri River, which makes its way through the state from north to south for some 550 miles. This great river cuts the state into two distinct halves. To the east are low hills, small lakes, and endless stretches of fertile cropland — the legacy of glaciers — where wheat,

corn, oats, and hogs are raised. Called East River, this half of the state is where 70 percent of South Dakotans live.

The land west of the river (or West River), untouched by glaciers, is laced with deep canyons, ragged badlands, mountains, and rolling plains. Here legions of buffalo once grazed, blackening the land as far as the eye could see.

The western half of South Dakota is steeped in frontier history. In the early days, intrepid explorers and fur traders fought the elements, and the 19th century saw frenzied gold rushes and bloody battles with the proud Sioux, who defended their territory against the encroaching, white man. Today vast Indian reservations and sprawling cattle ranches share the land.

To the southwest are the hauntingly beautiful Badlands. Here, over millions of years, wind, rain, snow, and ice carved out an eerie, lifeless moonscape of gorges, mesas, ridges, pyramids, and spires.

Skirting the state's western border are the Black Hills, so named by the Sioux because they look dark and sombre when viewed from the distant plains. In the 1870's the stampede for gold saw white men by the thousands invade the Black Hills, which the Sioux regarded as the sacred home of the Great Spirit. The Sioux rose in outrage, ushering in the 15-year-long Indian wars. They ended in 1890 with the death of some 200 Indians, shot by U.S. troops near Wounded Knee Creek. Today travelers flock to the" scenic Black Hills for recreation.

In 1889 South Dakota joined the Union as the 40th state.

(”The USA Diversity of 50 States”)