North Dakota is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. It is believed to host the geographic center of North America, Rugby, and is home to the tallest man-made structure in the Western Hemisphere, the KVLY-TV mast.

North Dakota is the nineteenth largest state, but with a population of less than 780,000 as of 2020, it is the fourth least populous and fourth most sparsely populated. The capital is Bismarck while the largest city is Fargo, which accounts for nearly a fifth of the state’s population; both cities are among the fastest-growing in the U.S., although half of all residents live in rural areas. The state is part of the Great Plains region, with broad prairies, steppe, temperate savanna, badlands, and farmland being defining characteristics.

What is now North Dakota was inhabited for thousands of years by various Native American tribes, including the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara along the Missouri River; the Ojibwa and Cree in the northeast; and several Sioux groups (the Assiniboine, Yankton, Wahpeton, and Teton) across the rest of the state. European explorers and traders first arrived in the early 18th century, mostly in pursuit of lucrative furs. The United States acquired the region in the early 19th century, gradually settling it amid growing resistance by increasingly displaced natives.