By: David H.
Submitted: 2011-11-14 23:38:06 | Word Count: 545
The state of South Dakota is known for offering excellent scenic and natural beauty along with some historically significant sites. This is also known for a large motorcycle rally that is organized every year in Sturgis. The state of South Dakota is a great place for young couples and the people who love to enjoy adventure amidst the nature.
The state of South Dakota is named after Sioux American Indian tribes. The region got the status of state on November 2, 1889. The state is bordered by Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, Minnesota and North Dakota states. The state is the seventeenth largest state of the nation with an area of about 77,121 square miles. There are only ten people per square mile in South Dakota. The state is also home to the largest and the longest river known as Missouri River that bisects the state into geographically distinct halves i.e. East River and West River.
[ advertisement ]
South Dakota is a major tourist attraction for the tourists of all over the world. The state offers a range of outstanding and unique attractions. The attractions of the state include natural wonders like Badlands National Park, Jewel Cave and Wind Cave National Park along with Mount Rushmore National Memorial and Crazy Horse Memorial etc.
Badlands National Park – is an extraordinary region that exhibits sharply and excellently eroded buttes, spires and is very well complimented with the largest grassland in United States. This is a great place for the people looking for extraordinary outdoor recreation. The Park is a natural bed of fossils that dated back 35 million years. Presently, the remains of fossils can be found throughout the park along with bullet shells and unexploded ordinances. Hence it is advisable to take some extra precautions and the list pertaining to the same is available from the National Park Service.
One can find a range of dazzling and stunning views of rock like formations. This is one of the most favorable and rich mammal fossil beds as it exhibits a harsh and rough terrain along with less water. The 244,000 acres park is an ideal shelter for many wildlife species such as bighorn sheep, swift fox and the most endangered black-footed ferret. The most commonly seen animals are antelope and deer that can be spotted roaming around roadways and picnic areas of the park. The best way of exploring the wonder of the nature is by foot or by car as it is possible to roam many trails.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial - is a wonderful and must visit tourist destination of South Dakota. The location represents the history of first hundred and fifty years of America. This is one of the most impressive and inspiring landmarks of American democracy. The heads of four Presidents viz. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln symbolize the freedom and democracy. Mount Rushmore was sculpted by renowned American sculptor Gutzon Borglum.
Crazy Horse Memorial – is the one of the most fascinating sculpture projects undertaken ever in the world. It is a mountain monument that is under construction and has been in progress since 1948. Because of the vastness of the project no completion date has been determined. The sculpture of Crazy Horse is developed in order to honor the history of the Native American Indians.
