Dakota

(da-kō'tah,) a territory of the U. States, b. N. by British N. America, E. by Minnesota, S. by Nebraska, and W. by Wyoming and Montana; it lies bet. Lat. 42° 30′ and 49° N., Lon. 96°30′ and 103° W., is of an almost quadrilateral shape, and is abt. 400 m. long by as much broad. Area, abt. 152,600 sq. m.; a considerable portion of its former area having been allotted to the new territory of Wyoming, 1868. D. forms, generally, an elevated plateau, with high rolling prairies and gra y plains, N.E. and S.W., and is drained by the Mi ouri, Nebraska, and Cheyenne rivers, besides quite a congeries of small lakes. Soil fertile, particularly in the bottoms; producing cereals, sugar, and excellent timber. Its mineralogical features are as yet but imperfectly known; the precious metals, iron, copper, coal, and salt, may, however, be enumerated among its products. This territory is so far only sparsely settled, and is, hence, the habitat of the buffalo, deer, grizzly bear, and other animals of the chase. Climate healthy, but inclining to cold. Prin. towns. Yankton (the C.), Vermilion, Greenwood, Fort Laramie. D. was territorially organized by Congre ional Act of 2d March, 1861. Pop. 14,181. Dakota, in Minnesota, an E.S.E. co., b. N. by the Mis si ippi river; area, 550 sq. m.; C. Hastings. Pop. 16,312.-In Nebraska, a N.E. co., b. on Iowa; area, 400 sq. m.; C. Dakota. Pop. 2,040.-The D, or JAMES river, rises in the N.F. portion of the territory of same. name, and falls into the Mi ouri, near Yankton, after a course of abt. 600 m. [s. 261]