Kansas - The Sunflower State at America's Geographic Center
Kansas sits near the geographic center of the contiguous United States, a fact marked by a small monument outside Lebanon in Smith County. The state covers roughly 82,000 square miles of mostly prairie terrain, with elevations rising gradually from east to west. About 2.9 million people live here, spread across 105 counties. Wichita is the largest city with around 400,000 residents, followed by Overland Park, Kansas City (Kansas side), Olathe, and Topeka, the state capital. The eastern third of the state, especially the Kansas City metro area, holds the bulk of the population.
Agriculture dominates the economy and landscape. Kansas produces more wheat than any other state, and its feedlots and meatpacking plants process millions of cattle annually. Dodge City alone handles a significant share of the nation's beef supply. Aircraft manufacturing is the other major industry - Wichita earned the nickname "Air Capital of the World" because companies like Cessna, Beechcraft, Learjet, and Spirit AeroSystems have built planes there for decades. Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the country, is headquartered in Wichita as well.
Fort Riley near Junction City and Fort Leavenworth near the Missouri border are the state's two major military installations. McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita operates KC-46 tanker aircraft. The University of Kansas in Lawrence and Kansas State University in Manhattan are the flagship public universities. Severe weather defines the spring and summer months - the state sits squarely in Tornado Alley and records dozens of tornadoes in a typical year.
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Kansas sits near the geographic center of the contiguous United States, a fact marked by a small monument outside Lebanon in Smith County. The state covers roughly 82,000 square miles of mostly prairie terrain, with elevations rising gradually from east to west. About 2.9 million people live here, spread across 105 counties. Wichita is the largest city with around 400,000 residents, followed by Overland Park, Kansas City (Kansas side), Olathe, and Topeka, the state capital. The eastern third of the state, especially the Kansas City metro area, holds the bulk of the population.
Agriculture dominates the economy and landscape. Kansas produces more wheat than any other state, and its feedlots and meatpacking plants process millions of cattle annually. Dodge City alone handles a significant share of the nation's beef supply. Aircraft manufacturing is the other major industry - Wichita earned the nickname "Air Capital of the World" because companies like Cessna, Beechcraft, Learjet, and Spirit AeroSystems have built planes there for decades. Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the country, is headquartered in Wichita as well.
Fort Riley near Junction City and Fort Leavenworth near the Missouri border are the state's two major military installations. McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita operates KC-46 tanker aircraft. The University of Kansas in Lawrence and Kansas State University in Manhattan are the flagship public universities. Severe weather defines the spring and summer months - the state sits squarely in Tornado Alley and records dozens of tornadoes in a typical year.
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