| Birth Date: January 29, 1861, as the 34th
state |
| Capital City: Topeka |
| Population: 2,688,418 (2000 - US census
report that comes out every 10 years) |
| Largest Cities: Wichita, Kansas City, Overland Park, Topeka |
| Smallest Cities: Freeport, Oak Hill, Benedict,
Frederick |
| Major Industries: Aircraft Manufacturing, Agriculture, and Education |
| Geographic Size: 82,282 square miles--ranked
15th in geographic size |
| Geographic Center of Continental US: Near Lebanon in Smith County |
| Highest Point: Mount Sunflower in western
Kansas--4,039 feet |
| Lowest Point: The Verdigris River in southeast Kansas--680 feet |
| Time Zones: Mostly central time zone. Some
counties in the far west portion of the State are in the mountain time zone. |
| Nickname: Sunflower State (unofficial nicknames: Wheat State, JayHawker
State) |
| State motto: "Ad Astra Per Aspera" Latin
for "To the stars through difficulty". |
| State Tree: Cottonwood, adopted 1937 |
| State Flower: Native Sunflower, adopted 1903 |
| State Bird: Western Meadowlark, adopted 1937 |
| State Animal: The American Buffalo or Bison, adopted 1955 |
| State Insect: The Honeybee, adopted 1976 |
| State Reptile: The Ornate Box Turtle, adopted 1986 |
| State Amphibian: Barred Tiger Salamander |
| State March: "The Kansas March," by Duff E. Middleton, adopted
1935 |
| State Song: "Home on the Range," by Dr. Brewster Higley, adopted 1947 |
