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 Kansas is a great vacation destination - whether you're traveling alone, with family, or on a group tour. With its rich history, wonderfully scenic landscape, exciting attractions, and always friendly Midwestern hospitality, Kansas is a great time. It's all here. It's all waiting. So go ahead, start planning your Kansas vacation today.
Kansas was granted statehood in 1861, becoming the 34th state in the US. Now with a population of nearly 3,000,000, Kansas is known as the Sunflower State, Wheat State, and the Jayhawker State. Find these and other interesting facts about Kansas here.
Kansas has had a dramatic history, even before it became the 34th state. Historians have reported that Native Americans were living in Kansas as early as 12,000 B.C. They were followed for centuries by many different tribes making the history of Kansas entwined with the first Americans.
Between 1541 and 1739 explorers from Spain and France came to the area in search of gold, knowledge, and trade with the Indians. In 1803, Kansas became a part of the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Fifty-one years later it was organized as a territory which included the eastern half of Colorado.
Conflict over slavery led to bloody battles between free-staters (anti-slavery) and pro-slavery forces. This led to the attack on Lawrence by pro-slavery forces and the widespread public outcry associated with "Bleeding Kansas." Kansas became part of the United States as a free state in 1861.
After the Civil War expansion of the rail system to Kansas and the increasing stream of immigrants lured to the state by offers of cheap land, Native Americans were forced into smaller and smaller reservations. Ultimately their removal to Indian Territory forced the final confrontation in the late 1870s that ended the independent life of the Native Americans.
The establishment of military posts to protect the railroads and trails used by immigrants led to the establishment of small towns which followed the posts. By 1870, the Kansas cow towns, following the westward expansion of the railroads, became well established. Such towns as Dodge City, Abilene, Caldwell, Newton, and Wichita took their turns as the Queens of the Trail. To this day, the cattle industry remains an important part of the state's economy.
The introduction of Turkey Red Winter Wheat by Mennonites from Russia in 1874 was a milestone in Kansas agriculture. The wheat was ideally suited to the Kansas climate and has made Kansas one of the leading wheat-producing states in the nation.
The 20th century brought mining, oil production, the discovery of natural gas and helium, the meatpacking industry, automobile manufacturing, and the aircraft industry. In this century, Kansas has changed from being primarily a cattle and wheat state to a thriving industrial and agricultural state. As the center of the 48 contiguous states, Kansas has proven to be an attractive location for many companies serving national and international markets.
Statehood:
January 29, 1861, 34th state
Origin of Name:
Named after the Indians that the Sioux called the Konza, meaning "people of the south wind"
State Capital:
Topeka, capital since 1861
State Nicknames:
Sunflower State, Wheat State, Jayhawker State, and Midway, USA
State Flag:
The Kansas flag consists of a dark blue field with the state seal in the center. A sunflower on a bar of twisted gold lies above the seal, and below the seal is the word "Kansas." The seal contains a landscape that includes a rising sun, representing the east; and a river and steamboat, representing commerce. In the foreground, a settler's cabin and a man plowing a field represent agriculture. A wagon train heads west and buffalo are seen fleeing from two Indians. Around the top of the seal is a cluster of 34 stars. The state motto appears above the stars.
State Motto:
Ad Astra Per Aspera, Latin words meaning "To the Stars Through Difficulties"
State Song:
"Home on the Range," lyrics by Dr. Brewster Higley, music by Daniel Kelley:
Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
Where the deer and the antelope play,
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
and the skies are not cloudy all day.
Home, home on the range,
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
and the skies are not cloudy all day.
State Animal: American Buffalo, designated 1955
State Bird: Western Meadowlark, designated 1937
State Insect: The Honeybee, designated 1976
State Flower: Wild Native Sunflower, adopted 1903
State Tree: Cottonwood, adopted 1937
State Reptile: Ornate Box Turtle, designated 1986
State Amphibian: Barred Tiger Salamander, designated 1994
Statistics
Area: 411 miles from east to west and 208 miles from north to south with a total of 82,282 square miles. The state ranks 14th in geographic size.
Geographic Center of Contiguous United States: Lebanon, Kansas
Highest Elevation: 4,039 feet above sea level, Mount Sunflower, Wallace County
Lowest Elevation: 679 feet above sea level, Verdigris River, Montgomery County
Approximate Mean Elevation: 2,000 feet above sea level
Mineral Production: Kansas ranks among the top ten states in mineral production with salt as the most abundant mineral. Kansas also leads the U.S. in helium production and is one of the top five producers of natural gas.
Normal daily mean temperature: 56.2 degrees Fahrenheit
Percent of days that are sunny: 62 percent
Average wind speed: 12.3 miles per hour
The terrain and climate of the state are quite diverse. From the arid, near desert southwest with its cactus, sagebrush, and yucca, to the rolling woodlands of eastern Kansas, the state provides a wide variety of plant life and geographic forms. The state is dominated by the central Flint Hills where large tracts of unplowed tall grass are found. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve's 11,000 acres are the largest protected tall grass prairie in the United States. The Konza Prairie's 8,600 acres is the second largest.
Kansas has many rivers and man-made lakes within its boundaries. The Arkansas River is the longest in the state and the Nemaha is the only Kansas river that flows north. Thousands of acres of man-made lakes furnish flood control and recreation in all sections of the state. There are over 20 major reservoirs in the state with Milford being the largest with over 16,000 surface acres.
Counties: 105
Population: 2,654,052 (1999)
Households: 971,000
Population change 1990-1999: 176,464 (7.0%)
Population per sq. mile: 32.26 |
