Kansas
Kansas State Information
www.kansas.gov
Area (sq mi):: 82276.84 (land 81814.88; water 461.96) Population per square mile: 33.50
Population 2005: 2,744,687 State rank: 0 Population change: 2000-20005 2.10%; 1990-2000 8.50% Population 2000: 2,688,418 (White 83.10%; Black or African American 5.70%; Hispanic or Latino 7.00%; Asian 1.70%; Other 6.40%). Foreign born: 5.00%. Median age: 35.20
Income 2000: per capita $20,506; median household $40,624; Population below poverty level: 9.90% Personal per capita income (2000-2003): $27,694-$29,438
Unemployment (2004): 5.60% Unemployment change (from 2000): 1.80% Median travel time to work: 19.00 minutes Working outside county of residence: 22.60%
List of Kansas counties:
Kansas Parks
- US National Parks
- Urban Parks
- State Parks
- Parks and Conservation-Related Organizations - US
- National Wildlife Refuges
- National Trails
- National Scenic Byways
- National Grasslands
Kansas
Thirty-fourth state; admitted on January 29, 1861
Kansas Day has been observed since 1877, most often in school programs about the state. The Kansas State Historical Society sponsors celebrations at the Kansas History Center in Topeka.
State capital: Topeka
Nicknames: Sunflower State; Wheat State; Jayhawk State
State motto: Ad Astra per Aspera (Latin “To the Stars Through Difficulties”)
State amphibian: Barred tiger salamander
State animal: American buffalo or bison (Bison bison)
State bird: Western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
State flower: Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
State insect: Honeybee (Apis mellifera)
State march: “The Kansas March”
State reptile: Ornate box turtle
State song: “Home on the Range”
State tree: Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)
More about state symbols at:
www.kssos.org/resources/kansaskids_facts.html
http://www.kshs.org/kids/things/symbols/
SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 95 AnnivHol-2000, p. 16
CONTACT:
Kansas State Historical Society
6425 SW Sixth Ave.
Topeka, 66615-1099
785-272-8681
fax: 785-272-8682
TTY: 785-272-8683
www.kshs.org/you/ksday.htm
STATE OFFICES:
State web site:
www.kansas.gov
Office of the Governor
State Capitol Bldg
2nd Fl
Topeka, KS 66612
785-296-3232
fax: 785-296-7973
www.ksgovernor.org
Secretary of State
120 SW 10th Ave
1st Fl
Topeka, KS 66612
785-296-4564
fax: 785-296-4570
www.kssos.org
Kansas State Library
300 SW 10th Ave
Capitol Bldg Rm 343N
Topeka, KS 66612
785-296-3296
fax: 785-296-6650
skyways.lib.ks.us
Legal Holidays:
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Kansas
a state in the central part of the USA. Area, 213, 100 sq km; population, 2. 2 million (1970), of which 66 percent is urban. The administrative center is Topeka, and Wichita and Kansas City are its most important cities. Its surface is an undulating plain, sloping gently from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains (altitude, 1, 231 m) to the valley of the Missouri River. In the central part of the state are the Smoky Hills and Blue Hills (maximum altitude, 862 m). The climate is moderately continental, with the mean monthly temperatures ranging from -3°C to 26°C. Annual precipitation is 550–950 mm. In the summer there are frequent droughts. The Kansas and Arkansas rivers have little flow for most of the year.
Kansas is one of the most important agricultural states of the USA; it is first in the harvest of wheat and second in sorghum and is fourth in the number of cattle. Its most important crop is winter wheat. Nearly two-thirds of the commodity output of agriculture is provided by livestock, with meat production predominating. As of 1970 there were 6. 0 million head of cattle (including 224, 000 dairy cows) and 1. 6 million pigs. Farms occupy 20. 4 million hectares, 95 percent of the state’s territory, of which 400, 000 hectares are irrigated. Large mechanized farms producing grain and meat provide the bulk of the output. The number of farms diminished from 120, 000 in 1954 to 87, 000 in 1969.
In 1969, 12, 000 workers were employed in the extraction industry and 146, 000 in processing. Oil (nearly 12 million tons), natural gas, and helium (of which Kansas is the leading US producer) are the most important raw materials. In value of output, processing is increasingly overtaking agriculture. The most important products are those of the food industry (canned meat, flour, concentrated fodder). The aviation (Wichita), automobile assembly (Kansas City), oil refining, chemical, and agricultural machine industries are developed.
V. M. GOKHMAN
Prior to its occupation by Europeans, the territory of Kansas was inhabited by Indian tribes. Europeans visited the area for the first time in 1541. In 1803 it became a possession of the USA, which purchased it from France as part of the vast territories of Louisiana. In 1854 it was given the status of a territory of the USA; adoption of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 led to civil war in Kansas between the supporters and opponents of slavery. It has been one of the states of the USA since 1861.