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Rapid City, South Dakota
City in South Dakota, United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Rapid City is a city in South Dakota, United States, and the county seat of Pennington County.[8] It is the second most populous city in the state, after Sioux Falls. It is located on the eastern slope of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and was named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed. The population was 74,703 as of the 2020 census.[5]
Rapid City | |
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Left to right, from top: Downtown Rapid City, The Journey Museum and Learning Center, Dahl Arts Center, Rapid City Public Library, and Hotel Alex Johnson. | |
Nickname(s): Gateway to the Black Hills, City of Presidents | |
![]() Location in Pennington County and the state of South Dakota | |
Coordinates: 44°04′17″N 103°13′15″W | |
Country | United States |
State | South Dakota |
County | Pennington |
Founded | February 1876[1] |
Incorporated | February 1883[2] |
Government | |
• Mayor | Jason Salamun |
Area | |
• City | 55.13 sq mi (142.78 km2) |
• Land | 55.07 sq mi (142.62 km2) |
• Water | 0.06 sq mi (0.16 km2) |
Elevation | 3,356 ft (1,023 m) |
Population | |
• City | 74,703 |
• Estimate (2024)[6] | 83,026 |
• Rank | US: 461st SD: 2nd |
• Density | 1,356.58/sq mi (523.78/km2) |
• Urban | 85,679 (US: 342nd) |
• Metro | 154,165 (US: 279th) |
Demonym | Rapid Citian[7] |
Time zone | UTC–7 (Mountain (MST)) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC–6 (MDT) |
ZIP codes | 57701–57704, 57709 |
Area code | 605 |
FIPS code | 46-52980 |
GNIS feature ID | 1267543[4] |
Website | rcgov.org |
Known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and the "City of Presidents" because of the life-size bronze president statues downtown, Rapid City is split by a low mountain ridge that divides the city's western and eastern parts, called ‘The Gap.’ Ellsworth Air Force Base is on the city's outskirts. Camp Rapid, part of the South Dakota Army National Guard, is in the city's western part.
Rapid City is home to such attractions as Art Alley, Dinosaur Park, the City of Presidents walking tour, Chapel in the Hills, Storybook Island, and Main Street Square. The historic "Old West" town of Deadwood is nearby. In the neighboring Black Hills are the tourist attractions of Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, and the museum at the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research. To the city's east is Badlands National Park.