State Symbols of Kansas

By | Updated on January 21, 2023

Reviewed by Rittika

Kansas is a landlocked state located in the Midwestern United States. The state was named after the Kansas River, which flows through Kansas state, and was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks. The name translates as “south wind people,” or “wind people.” 

It is bordered by Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south, and Colorado to the west. It is situated on the American Great Plains and rises more than 3,000 feet (915 meters) from the eastern prairies to the western high plains.

American Indians were using the natural sunflower for nourishment over 3,000 years ago; the seeds were cultivated over the ages, and the modern, oil-rich sunflower evolved. Kansas declared itself the Sunflower State in 1903, designating the wild native species as its official state flower and floral emblem. The honeybee is the state’s official insect.

Topeka is the state capital, and Wichita is the largest city. The nation’s first airplane factory was located in Wichita. Since 1928, it has maintained its title to be the Air Capital of the World. 

Kansas, with a total population of 2,937,880, according to the United States Census 2020, is the thirty-sixth most populous state, and the fifteenth largest state with a total area of 82,278 sq mi (213,100 sq km).

Mount Sunflower, at 4,039 feet (1,231 meters), is Kansas’s highest point.

Following the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which allowed new settlers to decide whether the states would be admitted to the union as “free” or “slave,” the North and South battled to send the most settlers into the region. As these forces clashed, the area became the center of violence and chaos. The state was known as “Bleeding Kansas”, at the time when pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups engaged in violent guerilla warfare on a regular basis. In 1954, it became a battleground for civil rights. The civil rights activists were successful, and Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29, 1861, and became the 34th state to join the Union.

Fort Leavenworth, a significant American military facility, is located in Kansas, which has long been recognized as a region of the country’s agricultural heartland.

The fun fact is that Kansas is also recognized as the setting for L. Frank Baum’s iconic children’s book The Wizard of Oz. Kansas has several Oz-themed attractions, including the Oz Museum, the Oz Winery, Dorothy’s House, and the Land of Oz.

Kansas had become one of the most productive agricultural states by 2015, with high yields of wheat, corn, sorghum, and soybeans.

The state bird of Kansas is the Western meadowlark, the state song is “Home on the Range”, and the state’s official motto is “Ad Astra Per Aspera (To the Stars Through Difficulties)”.

The official language of the state of Kansas is English.

State Information

Official Language	English
State Rank	15
Demonym(s)	Kansan Jayhawker (Colloquial)
Nickname	The Sunflower State (official); The Wheat State; The Jayhawker State
ISO	US-KS
Formation Date	January 29, 1861
Coordinates	Lat: 37° N to 40° N, Long: 94° 35′ W to 102° 3′ W
Area

State seal

Motto of Kansas

Ad astra per aspera- "for to the stars through difficulties"

State symbols of Kansas 👇

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  State capital
  Topeka
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  State bird
  Western meadowlark
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  State flower
  Wild native sunflower
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  State tree
  Cottonwood
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  State reptile
  Ornate box turtle
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  State insect
  Honey bee
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  State vegetable
  Sweet potato
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  State gemstone
  Jelinite
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  State animal
  American buffalo
• 
  State dish
  Barbecued ribs

State location

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