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Adopted early in the state's history, Iowa's nickname is "The Hawkeye State". The history of the nickname is debated. Some say it is a tribute to chief Black Hawk, leader of the native American Sauk tribe (relocated to Iowa after unsuccessful fighting of settlers).
Like many other states, Iowa takes its name from its predecessor, Iowa Territory, whose name in turn is derived from the Iowa River, and ultimately from the ethnonym of the indigenous Ioway people. The Ioway are a Chiwere -speaking Siouan Nation , who were once part of the Ho-Chunk Confederation that inhabited the area now corresponding to ...
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Iowa, constituent state of the United States of America. It was admitted to the union as the 29th state on December 28, 1846. As a Midwestern state, Iowa forms a bridge between the forests of the east and the grasslands of the high prairie plains to the west. Its gently rolling landscape rises slowly as it extends westward from the Mississippi River, which forms its entire eastern border. The Missouri River and its tributary, the Big Sioux, form the western border, making Iowa the only U.S. state that has two parallel rivers defining its borders. Iowa is bounded by the states of Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Missouri to the south, and Nebraska and South Dakota to the west. Des Moines, in the south-central part of the state, is the capital. The state name is derived from the Iowa Native American people who once inhabited the area.
Iowa is one of the leading U.S. states in number of farms. More than nine-tenths of its land is devoted to agriculture, making it one of the top states in agricultural production. With rich soils, gently rolling hills, and ample precipitation, the state is particularly suitable for mechanized agriculture and has become a national leader in agribusiness. Traditionally most of Iowa’s industrial enterprises were tied to agricultural production; however, economic downswings and the collapse of land values in the 1980s made it essential for the state to diversify its economy as well as its workforce. By the end of the 20th century, more emphasis had been placed on banking, insurance, biotechnology, and research and development.
Most of Iowa’s landscape is gently rolling hills or flat plains. The state’s elevation generally increases from east-southeast to west-northwest. The lowest point is within the city of Keokuk, in extreme southeastern Iowa where the Des Moines River enters the Mississippi, at just 480 feet (146 metres) above sea level. The highest spot, Hawkeye Point, is in northwest Iowa at 1,677 feet (511 metres) in elevation.
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The state’s terrain and rich soils are the products of the continental ice sheets that periodically covered the state during the Pleistocene Epoch (about 2,600,000 to 11,700 years ago). The Illinoian ice sheet covered a small area of southeastern and extreme eastern Iowa, and in so doing it diverted the Mississippi and created a valley along its western front that can still be seen. Some 20,000 to 25,000 years ago the Wisconsin ice sheet moved southward in a lobe that ended at about the site of the present city of Des Moines. The Des Moines lobe began its final retreat about 13,000 to 14,000 years ago. Accompanying the last two stages of glaciation were extensive deposits of windblown silt, or loess. Over the millennia, the prevailing west winds carried the loess from the western plains into Iowa as the glaciers retreated. In extreme western Iowa the loess deposits accumulated to form what are known today as the Loess Hills, a line of bluffs 100 to 200 feet (30 to 60 metres) above the Missouri River valley. Across much of the rest of the state, lesser amounts of loess amassed. The combination of loess and prairie grasses generated an unusually fertile soil across most of Iowa.
The most varied relief anywhere in Iowa is the Driftless Area, a dry upland that was bypassed by glaciers, near the Mississippi River in northeastern Iowa. There tributaries of the Mississippi cut deeply into the underlying bedrock. The Mississippi bluffs stand 300 to 400 feet (90 to 120 metres) above the valley, and the network of tributaries creates a scenic and hilly landscape.
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Most of the state is drained by the Mississippi River; only the extreme western and south-central areas are drained by the Missouri. Both of these rivers flow quite gently, while the upper Iowa and Turkey rivers in the Driftless Area generally have more rapids. Most of the state is underlain by pre-Illinoian drift, which has been eroded for at leas...
Most of the soils of Iowa, formed under prairie vegetation, are thick, dark in colour, and rich in organic matter and minerals. Only in the Driftless Area and along the dissected river valleys of the south and southeast are there lighter-coloured and less-fertile forest soils.
- Food Capital of the World. The Food Capital of the World is a very fitting Iowa state name. Iowa's top agricultural contributions are corn, hogs, and soybeans.
- Cyclone State. In 1895, Iowa endured numerous cyclones and tornadoes that caused significant damage. On September 28 of that year, the Iowa State football team shocked rival Northwestern by scoring 36 unanswered points.
- Land of the Rolling Prairie. The Land of the Rolling Prairie nickname arises from Iowa's primary topography. Widespread prairies stretch across the state, characterized by flat lands, tall grasses, and few trees.
- Land Where the Tall Corn Grows. The Land Where the Tall Corn Grows or the Tall Corn State is another Iowa nickname rooted in its agricultural impact. Over 13 million acres of corn were planted in 2023, making Iowa the top corn producer in the US.
When the American Indians first arrived (in what is now Iowa) thousands of years ago they would hunt and gather living in a Pleistocene glacial landscape. By the time European explorers visited Iowa, American Indians were largely settled farmers with complex economic, social, and political systems.
The Hawkeye State is a popular nickname for the State of Iowa, and those who believe themselves to be true Iowans, will gladly identify themselves as Hawkeyes. Well, according to the State of Iowa web site… Two Iowa promoters from Burlington are believed to have popularized the name.
Nov 9, 2009 · Des Moines, in the south-central part of the state, is the capital. The state name is derived from the Iowa Native American people who once inhabited the area. Date of Statehood: December 28, 1846
