South Dakota's points of interest, facts and trivia
August 05, 2009
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began drilling into the 6,200-foot Mount Rushmore in 1927. Creation of the Shrine to Democracy took 14 years and cost a mere $1 million, though it's now deemed priceless. The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are sculpted into Mount Rushmore the world's greatest mountain carving. The Crazy Horse mountain carving now in progress will be the world’s largest sculpture (563' high, 641' long, carved in the round). It is the focal point of an educational and cultural memorial to and for the North American Indian. Custer State Park is home to a herd of 1,500 free-roaming bison. Bison can weigh as much as 2,000 pounds. Historically, the bison played an essential role in the lives of the Lakota (Sioux), who relied on the “tatanka” for food, clothing and shelter. Jewel Cave is the third-longest cave in the world. More than 120 miles of passages have been surveyed. Calcite crystals that glitter when illuminated give the cave its name. With more than 82 miles of mapped passages, Wind Cave contains the world’s largest display of a rare formation called boxwork. Badlands National Park consists of nearly 244,000 acres of sharply eroded buttes, pinnacles and spires blended with the largest, protected mixed grass prairie in the United States. Badlands National Park contains the world's richest Oligocene epoch fossil beds, dating 23 to 35 million years old. Sturgis is home of the annual Black Hills Classic Motorcycle Rally.
Trivia from South Dakota's past
May 24, 2009
The site of a rich gold strike in 1875, Deadwood retains its mining town atmosphere. While Deadwood is one of the most highly publicized mining towns of the trans-Mississippi West, much of its fame rests on the famous or infamous characters that passed through. Jack McCall was tried, convicted and hanged two miles north of Yankton in 1877 for the shooting of Wild Bill Hickok. He is buried in an unmarked grave in the Yankton cemetery.Tom Brokaw of NBC graduated from Yankton High School and the University of South Dakota. In 1803, U.S. President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, a real-estate deal that at the time doubled the size of the United States. South Dakota is the home of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes, which make up the Sioux Nation. The name "Black Hills" comes from the Lakota words Paha Sapa, which mean "hills that are black". Seen from a distance, these pine-covered hills, rising several thousand feet above the surrounding prairie, appear black.
Windy Hill Outfitters - Did You Know? - Glacial Lakes and Prairie Pot Hole Region
February 15, 2009
South Dakota has miles of shoreline and plenty of freshwater fish including Walleye, Pike and Smallmouth Bass which are always biting. With more than 1,100 square miles of water and a fishing season that never closes, the Prairie Pot Hole Region has 120 glacial lakes that dot the Northeastern part of South Dakota. The lakes range in size from several acres to more than 17,000 acres. This area was created 20 thousand years ago by glaciers moving across the land.
Windy Hill Outfitters - Did you know? - facts on South Dakota
January 25, 2009
South Dakota ranks 10th in size among the 50 states, with a population of 754,844 people.
South Dakota's pheasant population is approximately 13 million and hunters harvest almost 2 million of them per year.
South Dakota encompasses 77,123 sq. miles, averaging 10 people per sq. mile... this means there are 168 pheasants per sq. mile and 17.22 more pheasants than people in the state.
South Dakota has the highest point in the US east of the Rocky Mountains (Harney Peak in the Hills; elevation 7,242 ft.) and more miles of shoreline than the state of Florida.
