Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Up with U.S. Geography: Missouri

State Name:
Missouri

Capital:
Jefferson City

Date of Entry:
August 10, 1821

Maps:

Map of USA. Missouri outlined in dark ink & with
name written on it.

A close-up of Missouri & its neighbors.

Neighbors:
Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska

Water Borders:
Missouri River, Mississippi River

Total Area:
69,704 square miles

Five Largest Cities:
Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Independence, Columbia

Famous Geographical Point:
Lake of the Ozarks

State Nickname:
The Show-Me State. While the origin isn't entirely clear, it's typically attributed to a speech by Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver, a speech intended to indicate that Missourians are neither naive nor gullible.

Famous Person:
T.S. Eliot, poet (one of my personal favorites)

Book Set In/About:
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

This novel of a young boy growing up on the Mississippi River is set in a fictional town based on Twain's own childhood home of Hannibal, MO.

Move Set In/About:
"Winter's Bone" (2010), directed by Debra Granik

Set in the Ozarks, a teenaged girl goes on a dangerous mission to find her missing father in an attempt to save herself and her younger siblings from eviction.

Headline of the Day:
"Hyperloop One Route Proposed for Missouri Cities" on nbcnews.com.

2 comments:

Patricia said...

State #3 of 4 that I've lived in. (That's alphabetically. In chronological time, Missouri is state #2 of 4 that I've lived in.)

I've always found something appealing about Missouri. It may be that my Aunt lived there, and she lived on a lake and when we visited when I was five, I got to go on the boat and do other fun things. But also, it's a pleasing name to say, and I like the shape of its borders, plus it makes up the leg in MIMAL (The baker who stands in the middle of the country).

I wouldn't want to settle there permanently, and when I lived there I didn't love the weather. But from this far perch, Missouri is a-okay.

balyien said...

I've only ever driven through Missouri, but in a couple of weeks I'll be in St. Louis for 2 days (meeting my brother there). I should really start reading up on things to do while he's at his training.