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Kansas Facts

Kansas Facts
The State of Kansas is located in the mid-west United States. Kansas shares state borders with Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri. Kansas is the 15th largest state with a total of 82,277 square miles. It is ranked the 34th most populated state with approximately 2,893,957 residents. Kansas is the 40th most densely populated state. Prior to European settlement, Kansas was inhabited by Native Americans. In 1541 the explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado arrived, and in 1803 the U.S. secured most of Kansas' area in the Louisiana Purchase. The Mexican-American War in 1848 resulted in the remaining part of present-day Kansas being part of Missouri Territory. Kansas became the 34th state to enter the Union in 1861.
Interesting Kansas Facts:
The name Kansas originates from the Sioux word that means 'people of the south wind'.
Kansas' state motto is 'Ad astra per aspera' which means 'to the starts through difficulties'.
Kansas capital city is Topeka.
The largest city in Kansas is Wichita.
The state song for Kansas is 'Home on the Range'.
Kansas' state nickname is the Sunflower State, and the Jayhawk State.
There are 105 counties in Kansas, and 24 state parks.
Kansas residents are called Kansans.
Kansas' state flower is the sunflower.
Kansas' state tree is the cottonwood.
The Kansas state bird is the western meadowlark.
The major rivers in Kansas include the Missouri River, Arkansas River, Smoky Hill River, Kansas River and the Republican River.
Major lakes in Kansas include Waconda Lake, Cheney Reservoir and Tuttle creek Reservoir.
There have been Silvisaurus, Nodosaurus, Hierosaurus and Claosaurus dinosaur fossils found in Kansas.
Kansas' state flag was officially adopted in 1927, with the state seal, sunflower and word 'Kansas' in the design.
There is a grain elevator in Hutchinson, Kansas that is half a mile long, with 1,000 bins, capable of holding 46 million bushels.
The windiest city in the United States is Dodge City, Kansas.
The first woman mayor elected in the United States was elected to office in Argonia, Kansas, in 1887.
The first black female winner of an Academy Award was Hattie McDaniel for her role in the movie 'Gone With the Wind'. She was a native Kansan.
The first female granted a pilot's license by the NAA Amelia Earhart, also the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, was from Atchison, Kansas.
The 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, was from Abilene, Kansas.
There is a growing ball of twine in Cawker City, Kansas weighing 16,750 pounds and being more than 38 feet in circumference.
Smith County in Kansas is the geographical center of the Lower 48 States.
The three legendary lawmen Wild Bill, Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson kept the peace in the frontier towns of Wichita, Hays, Dodge City and Abilene, Kansas.
There are 27 Walnut Creeks in the state of Kansas.
A hailstone that weighted more than 1.5 pounds landed in Coffeyville, Kansas.
The first Pizza Hut opened in Wichita, Kansas.
The Wheat Capital of the World is considered to be Sumner County in Kansas.


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