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Iowa - The Land of the Rolling Prairie.

Iowa

Herbert Hoover was born in the city of West Branch, Iowa in 1874. He was the 31st President of the USA and served from 1929 until 1933. He is the only American President so far to have been in Iowa.

Iowa was admitted to the Union on the 28th of December 1846, becoming the 29th state of the USA>

Iowa's official state bird is the American or Eastern Goldfinch. It was adopted by the state in 1933.

Both Iowa's East and West borders are marked by rivers - the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri and Big Sioux Rivers to the west.

Iowa has a population of around 3,100,000 making it the 30th largest US state by number of inhabitants.

Appropriately for the Hawkeye State, the highest peak in Iowa is called Hawkeye Point. It reaches a height of 1,670 feet or 510 metres and can be found just south of Iowa's border with the state of Minnesota.

Iowa is the only state in the USA whose name begins with two vowels.

Iowa has 9 sister states over the globe - one in Japan, Russia, Mexico, Malaysia, Ukraine, Italy and Kosovo and two in the People's Republic of China.

Iowa is the 26th largest of the US states. It covers an area of 56,272 square miles or 145,743 square km - that's twice the size of the Republic of Ireland.

Play this entertaining quiz and test your knowledge of Iowa - the Tall Corn State.

For a closer look at the pictures, please click on them to enlarge.

1 .

The flag of the State of Iowa shows a bald eagle bearing a ribbon marked with the state motto on a red, white and blue tricolour resembling the flag of which European nation?

The United Kingdom

Italy

France

Germany

The flag was designed by Mrs Dixie Cornell Gebhardt of Knoxville, Iowa in 1917. It was adopted by the state in 1921.

The similarity to the French flag may be a reference to Iowa's history as a part of the French Territory of Louisiana. The state motto borne by the bald eagle reads: "Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain"

2 .

Iowa's state rock is of a type often formed when gas bubbles below the Earth's surface are filled by minerals. What is the name for such types of rock?

Geodes

Stalactites

Crystals

Stalagmites

The word geode is derived from the Greek and means earth-like, presumably because of the round, globe like shape of the rocks. Iowa's official state rock is the quartz geode, adopted in 1967

3 .

Which county in Iowa has become synonymous with the motor-homes made there since 1966?

Shelby

Wapello

Scott

Winnebago

The first Winnebago motor-homes were much cheaper than those of their competitors which soon made them popular. Winnebago motor-homes are still being manufactured today. The older models have a cult following and can be recognised by a letter W which is painted on the vehicle's side

4 .

The actor Marion Morrison (seen here in a still from the 1956 film The Searchers) was born in Winterset, Iowa in 1907. How is he more commonly known?

Lee Marvin

John Wayne

Henry Fonda

James Coburn

Though born in Iowa, Wayne's family moved to Los Angeles when he was 9 years old. There he began a career in football but had to give it up after injuring himself. Instead he took to acting and went on to appear in more than 140 films, a great deal of which were Westerns. He was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1969 for his part in True Grit.

Wayne stopped acting in 1976 and he died in 1979 at the age of 72

5 .

This is a close up of Iowa's state tree. What type of tree is it?

A Horse Chestnut

A Bur Oak

A Chestnut

A Royal Oak

The bur oak is a species of white oak which grows only in North America. Its acorns (seen in the picture) are the largest of any species of North American oak and a source of food for American black bears.

Iowa is the only state to use the bur oak as a symbol, though different species of oak are the state trees of Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey

6 .

This is the flag of Iowa's state capital Des Moines. Des Moines is French for what?

Of the Miners

Of the Lakes

Of the Monks

Of the Hills

Des Moines is named after the fort which stood from 1843 -1846. The fort itself was named after the Des Moines River which is thought to have gotten its name because a colony of French Trappist monks once lived in its vicinity.

As well as being Iowa's capital Des Moines is also its largest city with a population of around 210,000. Only 2 other cities in Iowa have populations above 100,000: Cedar Rapids (c128,000) and Davenport (c102,000)

7 .

Glenn Miller served in both the US Army and US Air Force during World War II before he went missing when his aeroplane disappeared over the English Channel in 1944. What was Miller famous for, both before and during the war?

He was a bandleader

He was a comedian

He was a magician

He was an actor

Miller was a composer, musician and bandleader whose notable hits include Chattanooga Choo Choo, In the mood and Pennsylvania 6-5000. He enjoyed success in the 1930s and 40s before volunteering for the US forces and going to entertain Allied troops in Europe.

On the 15th of December 1944 Miller took of from Clapham in Bedfordshire, England headed for Paris where he was to play for the troops. The 'plane failed to arrive and no wreckage was found. There are many theories as to what happened, from a German attack to a faulty carburettor, but so far no-one knows what became of the aeroplane - or of Glenn Miller who was aboard

8 .

What is the official state flower of Iowa (pictured)?

The Wild American Poppy

The Wild Prairie Poppy

The Wild American Rose

The Wild Prairie Rose

The wild prairie rose (rosa arkansana) grows in the central parts of North America as far north as Canada and as far south as Texas. It is also the state flower of North Dakota

9 .

The Great Seal of the State of Iowa show a man bearing the US flag standing in front of which river?

The Rio Grande

The Missouri

The Yukon

The Mississippi

The Mississippi River marks the Eastern Border of Iowa. The seal, which dates back to 1847, also features a soldier (representing volunteers from Iowa who fought in the Mexican-American War), a US flag with 13 stars (one for each of the 13 original states), a liberty cap atop the flag (standing for freedom), a bushel of wheat (a major crop in early Iowa), a slab of lead and a lead foundry (lead was previously mined in the state), the steamboat Iowa (the fastest boat on the Mississippi when it was a major trade river) and a bald eagle bearing the state motto. The eagle also appears in Iowa's state flag

10 .

Donna Reed was born in Denison, Iowa in 1921. She was a successful film star in the 1940s and played the character of Ellie Ewing in which 1980s TV drama?

Dynasty

Knots Landing

Dallas

Falcon Crest

In 1984 Reed replaced the original actor who played Ellie Ewing, Barbara Bel Geddes. However, Bel Geddes returned to the role in 1985 and Reed was sacked. She sued the TV company and settled out of court for over $1 million.

Reed appeared in the 1946 classic It's a Wonderful Life, received the award of Best Supporting Actress in 1953 for her role in From Here to Eternity and had her own TV show between 1959 -1966.

Donna Reed died in 1986 at the age of 64

Author: Graeme Haw