North Dakota is a landlocked U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south, and Montana to the west. North Dakota is part of the Great Plains region, characterized by broad prairies, steppe, temperate savanna, badlands and farmland. North Dakota is the largest state by area, but with a population of just under 800,000, the fourth least – populous and fourth least populated. The state capital is Bismarck and the most populous city is Fargo, which accounts for nearly a fifth of the state’s population; both cities are among the fastest-growing in the U.S., although half of North Dakotans live in rural areas.

The area of North Dakota was inhabited for thousands of years by Native American tribes, including the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara along the Missouri River; the Ojibwe and Cree in the northeast; and several Sioux groups (the North Dakota, Nakota, Dakota, and Lakota) in the rest of the state. European explorers and traders first arrived in the early 18th century, mostly in pursuit of furs.