North Dakota - School-Age
North Dakota
39th State (November 2, 1889), the midwest U.S.
State Abbreviation: ND
Capital: Bismarck
Origin of name: From the Dakota or Sioux tribe, meaning "allies" or "friends".
Motto: Liberty and union, now and forever: one and inseparable
Nicknames: Peace Garden State, Flickertail State, Roughrider State.
North Dakota State Symbols
North Dakota: State Seal
Beverage:Milk
Bird: Western Meadowlark
Dance: Square Dance
Fish: Northern Pike
Flower: Wild Prairie Rose
Fossil: Teredo Petrified WoodFruit: Chokecherry
Grass: Western Wheatgrass
Honorary Equine: Nokota Horse
Insect: Lady Beetle (Ladybug)
Song: North Dakota Hymn
Tree: American Elm
North Dakota Video
Things to Know
United States Senators from North Dakota.
The geographic center of North America is near the town of Rugby, North Dakota.
North Dakota's official nickname is the Peace Garden State. This nickname honors the International Peace Garden.
Dakota is most often called the Flickertail State, because of the many Richardson ground squirrels that are abundant in North Dakota.
Writing Rock, twelve miles northeast of Grenora, is a large glacial boulder covered with Indian pictographs.
Land regions. North Dakota has three major land regions: in the east the flat Red River Valley and the rolling Drift Prairie and in the west the Missouri Plateau of the Great Plains .
The Red River of the North forms the eastern border of North Dakota. It forms the North Dakota-Minnesota border.
North Dakota's top industry is agriculture (farming).
North Dakota is one of the largest producers of crude petroleum in the nation.
North Dakota is almost always in the top 3 producers of sunflowers in the entire country. North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota grow approximately 75% of the sunflowers in the United States.
Major rivers: James River, Missouri River, Red River
Famous North Dakotans
Sakakawea (1784-1884?), Shoshone Indian woman who, with her husband Toussaint Charbonneau, served as interpreter and guide for the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Things to Do
North Dakota State Bird and State Flower Printable Color Page.
Sakakawea color page.
Chuckwagon Color Page
The Settlement Period: North Dakota 1870-1915
Plains Indian Parfleche
A rawhide carrying case decorated with geometric designs. This two-page handout includes instructions on how to make a parfleche
North Dakota Flag Map color page
Sites to See
The Origin of the Prairie Rose
A Lakota (Sioux) Tale
North Dakota Video