Kansas is the mid western state of America. It is bordered by Missouri in the east, Oklahoma in the south, Colorado in the west, and Nebraska in the north.
Kansas has an area of 82,264 sq mi (213,064 sq km). The Capital of Kansas is Topeka. Wichita is the largest city in the state.
Geography:
Kansas is rectangular in shape. It consists of the Great Plains, covered with endless fields of ripe golden wheat. The terrains of the east and the west are markedly different. The state is drained by the Kansas and Arkansas rivers, both of which generally run from west to east.
Economy:
From the distant past Kansas has been an agricultural state. Apart from being the nation's top wheat grower, Kansas is also the leading producer of grain sorghum and corn. Hay, soybeans, and sunflowers are also major crops. Cattle and calves, however, constitute the single most valuable agricultural item. Meatpacking and dairy industries are major economic activities, and the Kansas City stockyards are among the nation's largest.
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Food processing ranked as the state's third largest industry in the 1990s.
Manufacturing and services have surpassed agriculture as income producers, The two leading industries are the manufacture of transportation equipment and industrial and computer machinery. Wichita is a center of the aircraft industry, producing chiefly private planes. Other important manufactures are petroleum and coal products and non electrical machinery. The state is a major producer of crude petroleum and has large reserves of natural gas and helium.
Demographics:
Population according to 2005 estimate: 2,744,687
Male: 1,328,474 (49.4%)
Female: 1,359,944 (50.6%).
White: 2,313,944 (86.1%)
Black: 154,198 (5.7%)
American Indian: 24,936 (0.9%)
Asian: 46,806 (1.7%)
Other race: 90,725 (3.4%)
Number of counties: 105
Largest county by population and area: Johnson, 506,562 (2005) and Butler, 1,428 sq mi.
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