Fun Fact 2: The flag of Iowa can be described as a background of three vertical stripes that resemble the French flag (blue, white and red). The central white stripe depicts a bald eagle in flight carrying a blue streamer in its beak. The streamer displays the state motto in white letters "Our Liberties We Prize, and Our Rights We will Maintain", underneath the name of the state is shown in red capital letters
Fun Fact 3: The Capital city of Iowa is Des Moines. The city of Des Moines has one of the highest ratios of employment in the US - over 77,000 people travel into the city to work daily
Fun Fact 4: The area of the State covers 145,743 square kilometers or 56,276 square miles
Fun Fact 5: There are six states that border Iowa they are; Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota
Fun Fact 6: Iowa state has a few nicknames the most popular is "The Hawkeye State" - named after the scout, Hawkeye, a character in the book 'The Last of the Mohicans' written by James Fenimore Cooper and published in 1826. "The Corn State" and "Land Where the Tall Corn Grows" acknowledges the state as the US's main producer of corn. The nickname "Land of the Rolling Prairie" relates to the vast number prairies in the area
Fun Fact 7: The state flower of Iowa is the Wild Prairie Rose (Rosa Pratincola)
Fun Fact 8: The official State Song of Iowa is "Song of Iowa" it was written by S.H.M. Byers in 1897
Fun Fact 9: The three largest cities in Iowa are Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport
Fun Fact 10: The State Motto is "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain"
Fun Fact 11: A Brief History of Iowa - The first documented European explorers were from France, they arrived in 1673 and the area remained French territory until 1763. The district became part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, and became an established territory on July 4, 1838. Iowa became the 29th state in the Union on December 28, 1846
Fun Fact 12: The abbreviation letters / Postal Code abbreviation for the state of Iowa is IA
Fun Fact 13: The official State tree is - The Oak Tree. There are numerous species of oak trees though-out the state, providing shelter food and protection for many of the sates wildlife, animals and birds. The oak tree was official adopted as a state symbol in 1961
Fun Fact 14: Des Moines is the capital city, but originally it was named Fort Raccoon! Fort Raccoon was built in 1843; the name was changed to Fort Des Moines in 1846, then shortened to the present Des Moines
Fun Fact 15: The US Department of Commerce Census Bureau states that the Population of Iowa in 2012 was an estimated 3,074,186. This compares to a population of 2,404,021 in the 1920 census |
