Facts About Rapid City
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Rapid City is the second largest city in South Dakota, after Sioux Falls, with an estimated population of 76,184, as of 2021.
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Rapid City was founded in 1876 during the Black Hills Gold Rush.
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Rapid City has a history of quirky roadside attractions, including a 50-foot-tall statue of a lumberjack, a 62-foot-tall statue of a Native American warrior, and a 45-foot-tall statue of a pheasant.
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The city was named after Rapid Creek, which runs through the city.
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Rapid City has a strong military presence, with Ellsworth Air Force Base located just outside the city limits. The base is home to the B-1B Lancer bomber, which is a key part of the United States’ nuclear deterrent.
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The city is served by Rapid City Regional Airport, which offers non-stop flights to a number of major cities across the United States.
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In 2011, Rapid City was named the Most Patriotic Small Town in the United States during the “Best of the Road” contest sponsored by Rand McNally.
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Rapid City was incorporated in 1882. It became a major regional trade centre by 1900.
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Rapid City is in the Mountain Standard time zone and its elevation is 3,241 feet above sea level.
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Rapid City is known as The City of Presidents, a designation earned both by its proximity to Mount Rushmore and the ambitious public art project comprised of 43 life-size bronze presidential statues on street corners throughout downtown.
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Rapid City is home to a statue of a giant jackalope, a mythical creature that is said to be a cross between a jackrabbit and an antelope.
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Rapid City is home to the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra, which performs a variety of classical and contemporary music throughout the year.
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Rapid City is home to the Journey Museum and Learning Center, which explores the history of the Black Hills region and its people. It also has a collection of dinosaur fossils and exhibits on geology and palaeontology.
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Rapid City is home to a number of unique cultural events, including the annual Buffalo Roundup, which involves the herding of hundreds of buffalo into a corral for vaccination and sorting.
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The city has a number of unusual traditions and customs, including the annual “Burnout Sunday,” in which local car enthusiasts gather to perform high-speed burnouts in the parking lot of a local auto parts store.
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The latitude of Rapid City is 44.080N. The longitude is -103.23W. The geographic centre of the United States is located about 60 miles northwest near the town of Belle Fourche.
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Rapid City is located in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
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Rapid City has a total area of 55.49 square miles, of which 55.41 square miles is land and 0.08 square miles is water.
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Rapid city is twinned with the following sister cities: Apolda, Thuringia, Germany; Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan & Yangshuo County, Guangxi, China.
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Rapid City was known as Hay Camp, before becoming a city and was later renamed Rapid City after the Rapid Creek that flows through the area.
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