North Dakota (USA)

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North Dakota has no nationally recognizable landmarks, unlike its southern neighbour South Dakota, boasting 'Mount Rushmore', nor is the state of North Dakota's history particularly lurid or glamorous. It seems like somebody's quiet afterthought, a place to pass through. Grain silos loom on the horizon; the haystacks resemble loaves of bread. In the summer, with the sun baking in a defiantly blue sky and the wind raking strong fingers through tall fields of golden wheat and flax, North Dakota epitomizes all things rural American. Charming, picturesque - and a bit maddening.

The influx of Europeans into the Dakota Territory, spurred by the Homestead Act of 1862, precipitated a population and agricultural boom that lasted into the twentieth century. As in South Dakota, the fertile east is more thickly settled than the west, where vast cattle and sheep ranges predominate, and it was the east that was hardest hit by the so-called 500-year flood of 1997, when 1.7 million low-lying acres of farmland were inundated, and the entire state was declared a disaster area.

From Fargo , the state's largest city, I-94 passes through the central capital of Bismarck , and on to the Bad Lands of the west, once cherished by President Theodore Roosevelt. Though the national park bearing his name is a key destination, Roosevelt would surely not be pleased about the continuing disfiguration of much of western North Dakota by strip mining operations.

North Dakota has a Sub-humid continental climate.

Annual mean precipitation ranges from 13 inches in the northwest to more than 20 inches in the southeast.

Average yearly temperature ranges from 37 degrees F in the northeast to 43 degrees in the south.

January, the coldest month, average temperatures range from 2 degrees F in the northeast to 17 degrees F in the southwest.

July, the warmest month, average temperatures range from 67 degrees F in the northeast 73 degrees F in the south.

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Population: 295.734.100
Languages: English 82%, Spanish 11% (2000)
Currency: US dollar
Currency code: USD
Local Times:
U.S.A. - District of Columbia - Washington DC

U.S.A. - Florida - Orlando

U.S.A. - California - San Francisco

U.S.A. - New York - New York

U.S.A. - Nevada - Las Vegas

Country Dialling Code: +1
Voltage: 120V 60Hz
Electrical plugs:
2 parallel flat prongs

2 Parallel flat prongs with an earth connector

The USA is home to several of the world's most exciting cities, some truly mind-blowing landscapes, a strong sense of regionalism, a trenchant mythology, more history than the country gives itself credit for and, arguably, some of the most approachable natives in the world.

America was 'discovered' by Columbus in 1492 and for 500 years people have travelled here seeking a better life in the 'land of opportunity'. The land was fought over by colonial powers for centuries and finally won its independence from Britain in 1783. Despite the near annihilation of the Native American population, one of the bloodiest civil wars the world had seen, and racism (Native Americans were not granted citizenship until 1924 and racial segregation was the norm until as late as the 1950s), the American people have succeeded in forging one of the worlds most united, democratic and tolerant nations, a fascinating melting-pot of cultures, and the undisputed military and economic heavyweight of the world.

The country is made up of 48 contiguous states of the continental USA, plus the huge state of Alaska, northwest of Canada, and the volcanic islands of Hawaii, 2,000 miles (3,219km) out into the Pacific. There are also the US territories, which include Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Midway Islands and US Virgin Islands. Tourism is focused mainly in the great cities such as New York and Washington, as well as sunshine states such as Florida, California and Hawaii. However the mind-blowing landscapes, found in the wealth of magnificent National Parks like Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Adirondacks, as well as spectacular sights like the Grand Canyon and the Rocky Mountains, are what make the USA so unique. With all this on their doorstep, it's easy to understand why most Americans have never bothered getting a passport.