Iowa State Facts, Symbols and History
Iowa Fast Facts
Capital: Des Moines (pop. 209,124) (2008 est.)
Iowa population: 3,074,186 ( 2012 est.) (30th)
Iowa Quarter: The fourth quarter, released in 2004, honors Iowa and is 29th in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program.Iowa was admitted to the Union on December 28, 1846, becoming our Nation’s 29th State. Called “Iowa State,” the Iowa quarter features a one-room schoolhouse with a teacher and students planting a tree. The design is based on “The Day of the Trees”, a painting by Grant Wood, a native of Iowan.
The coin bears the inscriptions “Foundation in Education”, and “Grant Forest”.
Language: English, others
Largest Cities: (by population) Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Waterloo, Iowa City
Name: The origin of the name Iowa comes from Ioway, the French word for the Bah-kho-je Indian tribe who lived in the area.
Statehood: December 28, 1846 (29th state)
Iowa symbols
- Bird: oriental goldfinch
- Flag of Iowa
- Prairie Flower:Wild Rose
- Motto: “Our privileges we value and our rights we uphold”
- Nicknames: (most used) State of Iowa
- Song: “Iowa Song”
- State seal
- Wood: oak
Iowa is a state in the Midwestern United States, in the Northwest Center group of states. The area is 145.7 thousand km. Population – 3,062,309 (2011). The capital and largest city is Des Moines. Other major cities: Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Sioux City, Waterloo, Iowa City. See cities and towns in Iowa.
The state is located on the watershed of the largest rivers – Mississippi and Missouri. It borders the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
The highest point of the state is Falcon Point (509 m), the point of the lowest level above the sea is the Kiokak Plain -146 m. The average height above sea level is 335 meters.
Continental climate with high rainfall. The state is periodically subjected to floods, storms and tornadoes.
- AbbreviationFinder: Demonstrates how the two-letter acronym of IA stands for Iowa and a list of frequently used abbreviations related to the state of Iowa.
By the time the Europeans arrived, the Illinois, Iowa, Santee and Yankton Indian tribes lived here, whose ancestors inhabited these lands more than 10,000 years ago.
Although the first expedition of Europeans Jacques Marquette and Louis Jollier visited here in 1673, a permanent settlement was founded only in 1788 by Julien Dubuc.
In 1803, as a result of the Louisiana Purchase, the territory of the future state was acquired by the United States, and a year later the Lewis and Clark expedition passed through it. Indian resistance to Iowa settlement was broken by the colonists after the Black Hawk War of 1832.
The first official settlement of American colonists west of the Mississippi River appeared in 1833. Subsequent purchases of land from the Indians in the 30s – 40s. 19th century proceeded smoothly enough, the last bloodshed was the Massacre at Spirit Lake in 1857. In 1838, Iowa received the status of a territory centered on the city of Iowa City, the status of a state – since 1846, when Congress decided to admit a free state into the Union along with slave-owning Florida. In 1857, the state capital was moved to Des Moines.
Many of the early settlers were from Ohio and New York, and they played a critical role in developing Iowa’s ties with other states. In the middle of the 19th century, there was a rapid increase in the population – over the decade 1850 – 1860. it more than tripled to 675,000. A period of rapid development of railways and river transport began. By the start of the Civil War, there were serious partisan divisions and divisions in the state over the issue of slavery. The inhabitants of the state participated in the “underground railroad” and the J. Brown raids, about 80,000 people took part in the fighting on the side of the North during the Civil War (a larger percentage of the population than in any other state of the Union).
The post-war period saw the completion of the intensive settlement of Iowa and the development of farming. The state became one of the main strongholds of the Granger movement. In the process of the formation of the United States as an industrial power (1870-1920), Iowa played the role of the country’s breadbasket, and industry began to develop in the east of the state.
The state’s GDP in 2003 was $102 billion, with a per capita income of $28,340. Iowa is a leading agricultural state (in 1989, there was one farm for every 27 residents). Agriculture is dominated by corn, soybeans, oats, and beef farming (the state leads in pork production). The overuse of chemicals has led to serious environmental problems, forcing many farmers to switch to organic farming.
Industry is focused on serving the needs of agriculture.
By 1980, the state had developed a developed service industry, which employs more people than in agriculture and industry in general (Des Moines is a major center of the insurance business).
After serious economic difficulties in the 80s. In the 20th century, an intensive diversification of the economy began (the development of electronics, partial legalization of the gambling business, etc.).
The University of Iowa has the status of a state university. Located in Iowa City. Founded in 1847. About 20,000 students. First law school west of the Mississippi River. Museum of Natural History, Art Museum (created in 1969 on the basis of a private collection, includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky). large medical institutions. The library has over 3.1 million volumes.
