6 South Dakota Facts to Learn

1. The state's official nickname is "The Mount Rushmore State." The motto is "Under God the people rule."

2. The eastern part of the state is more like the Midwest; the western portion is considered part of the Great Plains. The Missouri River is the dividing line.

3. Black Elk Peak in the Black Hills is not only the state's highest point, it's the highest point (at 7,242 feet above sea level) east of the Rocky Mountains.

4. Five of South Dakota's counties are completely within sovereign Indian reservations.

5. Mount Rushmore was established as a national memorial in 1925 (the monument was completed sixteen years later).

6. When the interstate highway system was completed in the 1960s, the Black Hills region was established as a tourist destination.