North Dakota, state in the West North Central United States. It is bounded by Minnesota on the east, South Dakota on the south, and Montana on the west. North of it lies Canada. North Dakota belongs to the vast plains section of the United States, and like other plains states it is predominantly agricultural. Bismarck is the capital of North Dakota. Fargo is the largest city.
Early European residents were originally involved in fur trading, but after wars with Native Americans subsided and railroads were constructed, settlers poured into the state to take up its rich farmland. However, the prairie farmers have not always been successful economically. Political affairs in the state have vividly reflected the farmers' resentments against outside control of wheat prices and against the rates charged for storage and transportation of their grain.
North Dakotans participate in a variety of winter sports. These include skating, sleighing, and tobogganing. Ski trails and tows are being opened at various locations in the state, and the larger cities hold winter sports carnivals. People are also attracted to annual summer pageants depicting historical events associated with North Dakota and to the numerous agricultural fairs in the state. The state's many wildlife refuges (more than any other state) offer bountiful opportunities to observe animals. Bison, antelope, and bighorn sheep can frequently be seen, as can the hundreds of different species of birds that make the state home.
When the region including present-day North Dakota was made a territory of the United States in 1861, it was named for the Dakota people who lived there. Residents chose to retain the name when the territory was divided into north and south states upon admission into the Union on November 2, 1889. North Dakota is the 39th state. The Dakota people are better known as the Sioux, and have given the state one of its several nicknames-the Sioux State. North Dakota is called the Peace Garden State-in reference to the International Peace Garden on the border between North Dakota and Manitoba. Finally, the state is called the Flickertail State, referring to the flickertail ground squirrel common to central North Dakota.
