MISSOURI QUICK FACTS Name Missouri is named after the Missouri River which runs along the state’s eastern border The river and state are both named after a tribe of Native Americans called the Missouri State Capital Jefferson City population 43,132 Date of Statehood August 10 1821 24th state Population 6,083,672 18th-most populous state Area Total Land and Water 69,707 square miles 180,540 sq km 21st-largest state Largest City Kansas City population 470,800 Nickname The Show Me State Motto Salus populi suprema lex esto The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law State Bird Bluebird 6 MISSOURI
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA State Flower White Hawthorn Blossom State Mineral Galena White Hawthorn Galena State Tree Flowering Dogwood State Song The Missouri Waltz Highest Point Taum Sauk Mountain 1,772 feet 540 m Flowering Dogwood Lowest Point St Francis River 230 feet 70 m Average July High Temperature 89 F 32 C Taum Sauk Mountain Record High Temperature 118 F 48 C in Union and Warsaw on July 14 1954 St Francis River Harry S Truman Average January Low Temperature 21 F 6 C Record Low Temperature 40 F 40 C in Warsaw on February 13 1905 Average Annual Precipitation 43 inches 109 cm Number of U S Senators 2 Number of U S Representatives 8 U S Presidents Born in Missouri Harry S Truman 33rd president U S Postal Service Abbreviation MO QUICK FACTS 7
MISSOURI GEOGRAPHY Missouri Missouri is in the Midwestern region of the United States The Missouri River flows approximately west to east through the middle of the state It divides Missouri into two large geographical parts There are also two smaller additional regions North of the Missouri River are plains and gently rolling hills This Northern Plains region is the result of ancient glaciers that scoured the land thousands of years ago Ice sheets up to one-mile 1 6 km thick bulldozed the land flat When they melted they left behind rich soil for farming The Osage Plains is a region in western Missouri south of the Missouri River It is part of America’s North Central Plains The land in the Osage Plains isn’t as fertile as in the north Much of Missouri is flat plains or gently rolling hills 8 MISSOURI
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NEBRASKA IOWA 35 Kansas City 100 miles 100 km 70 49 KANSAS Jefferson City MISSOURI ILLINOIS St Louis 44 44 49 Springfield 55 OKLAHOMA ARKANSAS KENTUCKY TENNESSEE Missouri’s total land and water area is 69,707 square miles 180,540 sq km It is the 21st-largest state The state capital is Jefferson City GEOGRAPHY 9
