Missouri is a U.S. state situated in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most heavily populated state in the US and the fifth most heavily populated within the Midwest. It consists of 114 counties and one independent city. Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri. The four biggest urban regions are Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, and Columbia. Missouri was initially acquired from France as part of the Purchase of Louisiana and became defined as the Missouri Territory. Part of the Missouri Territory was admitted into the union as the 24th state on the 10th of August, the year 1821.
With a real mix of rural and urban culture, Missouri mirrors the demographic, economic and political makeup of the US. Missouri State has been considered a political bellwether state, meaning that the state voting results have accurately predicted the next President of the United States in each and every election ever since 1904 election, with exception of the elections in the years 1956 and 2008. It has both Southern and Midwestern cultural influences, reflecting its history as a border state. It is likewise a transition between the Western and Eastern United States, as the city of St. Louis is normally called the "western-most Eastern city" and the city of Kansas the "eastern-most Western city." The geography of Missouri is extremely varied. The northern part of Missouri lies in dissected till plains whereas the southern area lies in the Ozark Mountains with the Missouri River dividing the two. The confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers is located near St. Louis. The starting points of the Oregon trail and the Pony Express Trail were both in Missouri. The mean center of United States population as of the the year 2010 Census is at the town of Plato within Texas County, Missouri.
During the year 2006, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated the state's total state product was $225.9 billion. The state of Missouri ranks 26th in the United States, with a per capita income of $32,705 in the year 2006. Major industries include aerospace, transportation equipment, chemicals, food processing, printing/publishing, electrical equipment, beer and light manufacturing.
The agriculture products of Missouri are beef, soybeans, dairy products, pork, corn, hay, sorghum, poultry, cotton, rice, and eggs. Missouri is ranked 6th in the nation for the production of hogs and 7th for cattle. The state of Missouri is ranked in the top five states within the US for production of soy beans. As of 2001, there were 108,000 farms, the next largest number in any state after the state of Texas. Missouri actively promotes its rapidly growing wine industry.
The state of Missouri has vast quantities of limestone. Other resources mined are lead, coal, and crushed stone. The state of Missouri produces the most lead of all of the states. Most of the lead mines are within the central eastern part of the state. The state of Missouri also ranks first or just about first in lime production, an essential component in Portland cement.