Rapid City : South Dakota

Rapid City is an attractive urban center with well-preserved buildings along the wide sidewalks. It is a seat of Pennington County. Each year tourists from all over the world are attracted to this city which was celebrated in  in the 1990 award-winning film Dances With Wolves,to see the presidents' busts carved into Mount Rushmore and to visit the Black Hills. It is an important center of agriculture, retail shopping, and medical facilities. The city is home to the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology as well as Ellsworth Air Force Base. Seven percent of Rapid City's population is made up of Native Americans whose arts and crafts abound in the city's shops.

Black Hills rise immediately west of the city, while the other three edges of the city look out on the prairie.

Rapid City enjoys a pleasant climate with snow free winters and mild warm summers. Mild, sunny days are common throughout the winter and occasional "chinook" or warm winds frequently follow a stint of snowy weather. It receives light snowfall with monthly average of less than eight inches.

Area: 45 square miles (2000)

Elevation: 3,200 feet above sea level

Latitude: 44.08 N

Longitude: 103.23 W

Average Temperatures: January, 21.9° F; July, 72.6° F; annual average, 46.6° F

Average Annual Precipitation: 16.7 inches of rain; 39.1 inches of snow

Population: 62,167 as on 2005

Attractions:

    * Storybook Island
    * Stavkirk Chapel
    * Borgund Church
    * Museum of Geology at the South Dakota Schools of Mines and Technology
    * Journey Museum
    * Museum of Geology
    * Minnilusa Pioneer Museum
    * Sioux Indian Museum
    * Badlands National Park
    * Jewel Cave
    * Reptile Gardens
    * Air and Space Museum

Festivals

    * The Black Hills Bluegrass Music Festival
    * Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
    * Central States Fair
    * Buffalo Roundup
    * Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo