20 Interesting Facts About Rapid City

Facts About Rapid City, SD

Facts About Rapid City

  1. Rapid City is the second largest city in South Dakota, after Sioux Falls, with an estimated population of 76,184, as of 2021.
  2. Rapid City was founded in 1876 during the Black Hills Gold Rush.
  3. 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.
  4. The city was named after Rapid Creek, which runs through the city.
  5. 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.
  6. The city is served by Rapid City Regional Airport, which offers non-stop flights to a number of major cities across the United States.
  7. 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.
  8. Rapid City was incorporated in 1882. It became a major regional trade centre by 1900.
  9. Rapid City is in the Mountain Standard time zone and its elevation is 3,241 feet above sea level.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. Rapid City is home to the Black Hills Symphony Orchestra, which performs a variety of classical and contemporary music throughout the year.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. 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.
  17. Rapid City is located in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
  18. 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.
  19. Rapid city is twinned with the following sister cities: Apolda, Thuringia, Germany; Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan & Yangshuo County, Guangxi, China.
  20. 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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Facts About Rapid City
Facts About Rapid City