NDNorth Dakota Fun Facts

Nobody knows whether North Dakota or South Dakota became a state first. On November 2, 1889 President Benjamin Harrison had both admission proclamations shuffled and covered so he could not tell them apart, then signed without looking. The order went unrecorded. North Dakota is listed 39th only because it comes first alphabetically.

Facts most people get wrong

• It does not hold the northernmost point in the lower 48. That is the Northwest Angle in Minnesota, which pokes above the 49th parallel. North Dakota's border follows the parallel in a straight line.
• Theodore Roosevelt was not from here. He was born in New York City and came west to ranch in the Badlands in the 1880s, later crediting those years with making him. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is the only national park named for a person.
• The film Fargo is barely set in Fargo. Most of the story takes place in Minnesota, and most of it was shot there too.
• It is not all flat. The Badlands cut across the western counties, and White Butte reaches 3,506 feet.
• The capitol has no dome. Bismarck's statehouse is a 19-story Art Deco tower finished in 1934 after fire destroyed the previous building, and it is still the tallest structure in the state.

Records and firsts

• North Dakota regularly ranks first in the nation in honey production.
• It leads the country in spring wheat, durum, canola and sunflowers, and ranks first in dry edible beans.
• The Bakken shale boom pushed the state to second among oil producers behind Texas during the 2010s, and it remains in the national top three.
• The International Peace Garden was dedicated in 1932 straddling the border with Manitoba, and it gave the state its official nickname.
• Geese in Flight, on the Enchanted Highway near Regent, has been recognized by Guinness as the world's largest scrap metal sculpture. Jamestown counters with a 26-foot concrete bison from 1959.
• North Dakota was admitted on November 2, 1889 and holds three electoral votes, the fewest any state can have.

Geography that surprises

• The state sits in two time zones. The southwestern corner runs on Mountain time while the rest of North Dakota runs on Central.
• Lake Sakakawea, created when Garrison Dam blocked the Missouri, has roughly 1,300 miles of shoreline, more than the coast of California.
• The Red River of the North runs the wrong way by American habit. It flows north out of the United States into Canada and eventually reaches Hudson Bay.
• A monument in Rugby has claimed the geographic center of North America since 1931, though a 2017 recalculation put the point near the town of Center instead.
• White Butte tops out at 3,506 feet while the Red River valley near Pembina drops to about 750 feet. The state borders Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Where the name comes from

Dakota is a Sioux word meaning friend or ally, and it is the name the Dakota people use for themselves. Congress created Dakota Territory in 1861 out of Louisiana Purchase land and borrowed the word for it. Its two population centers, one along the Red River and one near the Black Hills, had almost nothing to do with each other, so Congress cut the territory in half in 1889 and admitted both pieces the same day. Peace Garden State came much later, from the garden on the Manitoba line.

Quick stats

• Capital: Bismarck · Largest city: Fargo
• Admitted: November 2, 1889, the 39th state
• Area rank: 19th of 50 · Time zones: Central and Mountain
• Nickname: Peace Garden State
• Motto: Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable
• Bird: western meadowlark · Flower: wild prairie rose · Tree: American elm

Common questions

What is North Dakota known for?

Bakken oil, spring wheat and durum, first place in national honey production, the Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and the International Peace Garden on the Canadian border.

Which became a state first, North Dakota or South Dakota?

No one knows. President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the two proclamations on November 2, 1889 and signed them without seeing which was which. North Dakota is numbered 39th and South Dakota 40th purely by alphabetical order.

Why is North Dakota called the Peace Garden State?

For the International Peace Garden, dedicated in 1932 on the border with Manitoba to mark peace between the United States and Canada. The phrase appears on state license plates.

Is North Dakota in two time zones?

Yes. The southwestern corner of the state, including the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park, observes Mountain time. Bismarck, Fargo and the rest of the state observe Central time.

Where is the geographic center of North America?

A stone monument in Rugby, North Dakota has claimed the title since 1931. A 2017 recalculation placed the point near the North Dakota town of Center, which was already named that.

Bordering states

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