North Dakota Flag
North Dakota became the thirty-ninth state of the United States in 1889. The state ranks seventeenth in area and forty-seventh in population. Its nicknames include the Sioux State, the Peace Garden State, and the Flickertail State. Bismarck is the state capital. North Dakota is the nation’s leading producer of wheat, and it has large reserves of lignite coal and natural gas. Children can learn more at: North Dakota.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established in 1978. Composed of three portions (North, South, and Elkhorn Ranch), the park encompasses 70,446 acres in western North Dakota. Theodore Roosevelt first visited the area in 1883 to hunt bison. Mourning the deaths of his first wife and his mother, he returned in 1884 and built Elkhorn Ranch. The area is mixed prairie grasslands, and bison, elk, and bighorn sheep are among the many animals to be found there. It is the only national park to be named solely for one person. Children could learn more at: Theodore Roosevelt National Park.